Hogwarts
by C.R. Richardson
Summary: Set in 1977 with James and Lily in their 6th year.The more powerful Voldemort gets outside of school, the more worried all of the students are. A strange new kid in SLytherin befriends Lily and James doesn't trust him.
1. Living Death

_Hi, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_This is the first fic I have written, I got the idea from reading other Harry Potter fanfics and was thinking about Lily and James's life at Hogwarts. I tried to stick close to the story line that J.K Rowling hinted at during the Harry Potter series, and I hope I managed to do that well._

_This story begins in their sixth year at school, but does briefly mention previous years._

_I hope you enjoy it :)_

_(_**Disclaimer**_: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did, it wouldn't be as good as it is now.)_

* * *

><p>"Oi! Evans! Over here! Saved you a seat." The shout came from a tall boy, who's mouth was spread out in a wide grin, he lounged back in his chair, twirling his spoon around his fingers. <em>Urgh<em> Lily thought, _I wish Sirius - and all his friends for that matter - would just leave me alone!_ Flashing a glare at the four boys staring at her over their breakfast she made her way down the long oak tables, laid out with an array of different foods. Spotting Tami's long blonde hair from a distance she strode toward it. 

"Lily! You weren't in bed this morning when we got up, so we guessed you came for breakfast early... But when we got here you weren't here either. So where were you?" asked Elle, with a worried look on her face. 

"The library" Tami and Lily spoke in unison.

"Was that not obvious, Elle?" Tami said indignantly, giving her blonde curls a flick behind her shoulder.

Lily gave both her friends an exasperated look. "I was finishing reading _Advanced Potion Making_ before class." She set aside her books for the day and reached for a slice of toast. 

"You've read that already!" Tami choked on her cereal. "But school hasn't even started yet! It's only the first day back for Christ's sake."

Elle glanced down at her watch. "Shoot, we're going to be late for double potions. And reading the book ahead of time or not, Slughorn won't be pleased if we're late." Tami and Elle rose from their seats and started gathering their books.

"You two go ahead," Lily said as she ran a hand through her vibrant red hair, her friends stopped and turn to her. "I have to, erm, talk to Professor McGonagall. Save me a seat?" Lily gave them a fleeting smile as she rushed out of the emptying hall. Tami shrugged and followed her out of the room. Elle trailed along behind her like an obedient puppy.

* * *

><p>"...Thanks for saving me a seat" Lily mumbled sarcastically as she stood with her friends looking at the lonesome desk at the front that nobody wanted.<p>

"It's not our fault you had to talk to McGonagall! We did try to save you a seat, but they only come in sets of two. See?" Tami responded looking straight at Lilys green eyes. Elle just sat there looking apologetically at her friend.

Professor Slughorn cleared his throat, turning away from the chalkboard as he set down his chalk. Lily sighed and muttered "It's fine... whatever... I don't mind... honest" to try and relieve some of Elle's stress. She made her way to the front of the classroom, to her desk for the rest of the year. Lily looked up at the writing on the chalkboard.

Draught of Living Death

Advanced Potion-Making

Page 10

The prize: One vile of Felix Felicis.

Lily pulled out her copy and flipped through the pages till she reached page 10. "Felix Felicis," Slughorn started to talk to the class, "Also known as Liquid Luck. Once consumed all of your endeavors will succeed-" Professor Slughorn broke off as the door to the potions room burst open.

"Ah Potter, so nice of you to join us. Any reason you're late?" He was blatantly annoyed at the interruption.

"No, sir. Sorry, it won't happen again." James said as he made his way to the front of the class, ruffling his hair as he went. All the girls eyes were trained on him as he passed, making Lily roll her eyes and turn back to focus on the potion she will soon be making.

"Well it looks like we have one more seat left, if you would like to sit down." Professor Slughorn said as he gestures towards the spare seat next to Lily. At this Lily looked up. _No No No! Not James! Please not Ja-_

"Mornin' Evans" James said with a nonchalant smile as he tossed his books onto the desk. _Great. I'm going to be stuck with him ALL year. _"So... What are we meant to be doing?" he asked when Lily didn't reply to him.

"It's on the board" she muttered without looking up.

"Right…" James said glancing at the board, looking through the very limited supply of books he had thought to bring with him "Hmm... Do you think I could share your book with you for the lesson?" Flashing the smile that won girls' hearts in an instant.

Without saying a word, Lily slid the book to the middle of the table, so they could both see the potion that they needed to make this lesson. Lily walked to the supply cupboard along with her classmates to retrieve a cauldron, some wormwood and a few valerian roots among other things.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Severus Snape smirked as he listened to his peers apologizing as potions blew up in their friends faces. The lanky boy automatically glanced to the front of the class where he saw Lily a little frazzled, staring quizzically into her cauldron that was emitting a light pink smoke. Snapes cauldron however was sending out puffs of violet smoke. <em>Perfect,<em> he thought, _No doubt I will win this._

"Times up." The potions master called from the front of the class, where he had been watching amused, as the students tried to master one of the more complicated N.E.W.T potions. He waddled around the desks looking into everyone's potion. When he came to Lily's he peered in carefully, "Well done, Miss...?"

"Evans" She answered with a bright smile, evidently happy with the work she had produced. "Lily Evans, Sir."

"Well Miss Lily Evans you were very close. Very close indeed, though this is not quite perfect. But I would assume that anyone who drank this potion would fall into a deep sleep for a long time." Her face fell a little at the news that she would not be winning the prize today. "And Mr Potter... What do you call this?"

"Um... The Draught of Living Death, Sir?" James said, unsure of himself, which surprised Lily. Usually the aura of complete confidence came from him and this total lack thereof made Lily stare at him for a few moments before being brought back to reality by her teacher.

"Ha!" Professor Slughorn laughed "That is not what I would call it." he said before moving on to his next victims. Without waiting for a response, the teacher inspected the potions of the students behind Potter and Evans, looking very disgruntled with the work produced in the double lesson.

As Slughorn made his way fairly quickly around the class, bypassing some of the students' workplaces when all that could be see was a cloud of thick black smoke filling the room. Giving one cauldron a wide berth because the putrid smell was burning his nostrils, Slughorn finally made it to the last student's potion. Cautiously looking into the Slytherin's cauldron, his heart warmed when he saw the clear liquid lapping at the sides "And it looks like we have a winner!" Slughorn beamed at the greasy haired boy, presenting him with a tiny vile of golden luck, the class applauded grudgingly. Lowering his voice, Slughorn said "Use it well Snape, won't you m'boy?"

Snape grinned as he accepted the small vile. "Of course Sir!" He slipped the bottle into his robe pocket so it sat alongside his wand and a few other precious belongings, for safe keeping. Slowly, Severus started packing away his items. Whilst draining his prize winning Draught of Living Death, he looked up to see that he was alone in the room with the girl he had been in love with since he was nine.

* * *

><p>Lily was just walking out of the supply closet after putting away the rest of the ingredients that she hadn't used, when she realized that Tami and Elle had left her. In fact, everyone had left the potions room. Everyone, that is, except Severus Snape. Just looking at him now brought back a flood of memories. Her eyes stung as unshed tears threatened to come at any minute but at the same time a deep anger towards him was growing inside of her. <em>Forget about him Lily. He called you a mudblood. It was awful. And mean. And now you are over it. Move on. <em>It was the same pep-talk she gave to herself every time she saw him.

Lily strode over to her desk and gathered her books up. "Nice try..." She looked up to see Severus talking to her.

"Sorry?" She must have misheard him. _Was he actually trying to make small talk? After the way he treated me? No way._ She had to be dreaming.

"Nice try… With the potion. You were quite close to winning. Next time you should try crushing the sopophorous beans with the flat of the knife rather than cutting them - you get more juice that way." He smiled at her trying to apologize. _Well you can't put me through what I've gone through and think a smile will change things. _Lily thought.

"Oh... um, thanks..." Lily looked around the room feeling uncomfortable and awkward. She really did not want to be talking to him and didn't know what to say. "Well, congratulations on winning!" She finally blurted out after a moment of silence.

Severus mumbled a "thanks" in reply. He was disappointed because he could tell that Lily had somewhere else she wanted to be. Anywhere else that wasn't here, with him. He knew he had blown his chances. Lily would never forgive him. Calling her a _m__udblood_ last year was his biggest regret to date and he would give anything to go back and change the past.

"So I should probably get going. Tami and Elle will wonder where I am." With a small smile, Lily left the room, leaving Severus to clean up the rest of his items in silence.

* * *

><p>"But I don't know what the password is! This morning it was 'Dumbledore'. When did it change?" Lily whined at the moving portrait.<p>

The fat lady dressed in Victorian clothing looked at the student stunned, "It changed when I decided to change it. I can't very well have Slytherins or Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs wandering around the common room, can I?" said the lady indignantly.

"But I am not from Ravenclaw, nor from Hufflepuff, and I am most certainly not from Slytherin. Please let me past!" Lily tried to beg and reason with the lady but it was not working. At this rate she would have to go to Defense against the Dark Arts with no books and no food to feed her hungry stomach.

"Having some trouble there, Evans?" James smirked as he came out of the shadows behind her.

"No. I just never got told the new password, that's all. And she," Lily said turning and glaring at the portrait, "won't let me through, because she believes I am not a Gryffindor." Straightening out her skirt, Lily added, "But don't you worry. It's nothing I can't handle."

"While this is amusing, other people need to use the Gryffindor dormitories." His smirk turning to a full grin, "So if you don't mind, I think I'll just..." He turned to the lady in the portrait.

"Chocolate frog" he enunciated both words precisely and clearly "And speed up the guessing process you seem to be trying out…" his voice faded into silence as the portrait swung open to reveal only a few remaining people milling around mixing with odd bits of furniture placed around the forever lit fire.

Lily stared at James in shock "Chocolate frog?" She asked. "Should have known it would be something to do with chocolate I guess…." She walked to the stairs leading to the girls dormitories. As she reached the stairs she seemed to remember James was there. "Thanks for getting me in." she smiled tentatively at the boy while he ruffled his hair.

"No problem." He said. "It's all about who you know." He turned away and sauntered over to the steps across from her, leading to the boys' dormitories. Leaving Lily standing there without so much as a goodbye.

* * *

><p>Elle glanced around the green hilly fields looking apprehensive.<p>

"Where's Lily? I haven't seen her since potions, you think she's ok?" She asked a bored Tami who was sitting in the sun tanning her already brown legs that were sticking out from the bottom of her grey school skirt.

"Why wouldn't she be ok? Probably just in the library reading." Shaking her head, she closed her blue eyes so as to soak up the afternoon summer sun. "Stop worrying so much, Elle, you'll only give yourself wrinkles."

"You don't think she's mad at us though do you?"

"No! Why would she be mad at us? We've done nothing wrong!" Tami said angrily. Such drama would cause _her _to prematurely wrinkle.

"Well... we didn't save her a seat in Potions and so she had to sit next to James, and we all know they get along famously." Elle said sarcastically, looking up from the book she was reading in Ancient Runes. "And then we left her after Potions..." She stared at Tami.

Looking frustrated, Tami gathered up her books and stood up, "Ok, first of all, 2 seats per desk. She was late! What did she expect us to do? And second of all I really needed to go to the toilet that double period was hell! And you, being an amazing friend, came with me." Smiling sweetly at Elle, she offered her a hand to help her up. Elle sighed but she accepted it nonetheless. They linked arms and made their way to the castle, chatting and giggling as they prepared for the last two lessons of the day.

* * *

><p>"You want my advice?" asked Sirius.<p>

The three friends laughed at him, "No one wants your advice, Padfoot" said the eldest boy, Remus Lupin, referring to his friend using the nicknames they had made for each other a few years ago.

Still chuckling, James said "Now, now Moony. I, for one, would like to hear Sirius's words of wisdom." Peter nodded his head enthusiastically. He was still so enthralled that he had been included in the group that he would go along with absolutely anything any of them said. Remus shrugged. Admittedly, he also wanted to know what was going through Sirius's head.

Sirius waited for a silence to fall. When he had the groups undivided attention, he began.

"So now you all want to know what the great Sirius Black thinks, is that right?" James and Remus turned to each other, rolling their eyes and sighing, only Pettigrew nodded his head eager to find out Blacks thoughts. "Well you are in luck today gentlemen. Because Sirius is going to tell you..."

James had had enough already, "Stop referring to yourself in the third person, Padfoot, and get on with your advice. It had better be good after all of this."

"Ok ok, well... Move on." Sirius shrugged apologetically as James's eyebrows rose a fraction, "She clearly does not like you back. Sorry mate. You have plenty of girls chasing after you, just chose a hot one and go out with her. You are chaser on the quidditch team for gods sake. If you can't get a girl there is no hope for the rest of us..."

"Padfoot, you're never without a girlfriend!" squeaked Peter, barely hiding his jealousy.

"I'm single now, aren't I?" Sirius said defending himself.

James made a sound at the back of his throat, "How long do you think that will last for? I'm betting three days. Tops." James Looked around at the other two boys in the group. "What do you say boys? 10 galleons? Anyone up for a little bet?"

Sirius sat there glaring at James. "I can be single for longer than three days. I don't just date the first girl I see! How shallow do you think I am?" He was in a state of disbelief; _James was supposed to be his friend. How could his best friend be saying these things?_

James didn't mean to be taking this out on Sirius. It was Lily he was angry with, he liked her and had asked her out countless times over the years only for her to turn him down every time. But it was Sirius who was here now. And it was Sirius who brought up the Lily situation. So it was Sirius who James was going to have a go at right now.

"You really want me to answer that?" the scathing comment dripped from his lips. Remus and Peter, sat back shocked and helpless, they didn't know what to do or whose side to take.

Sirius abruptly stood up, followed closely by James, wands in hands ready to curse the other if necessary. Sirius was taller but they were both equally just as skilled with a wand. Eyes reduced to slits as they glared at each other.

"Let it go, Sirius." Remus said, jumping into the conversation for the first time. The two teenagers glared at each other for a long moment. Lupin's eyes darted between the two boys fast hoping one would back down.

"You're a right jerk, Potter. I'll talk to you later. When you've seen sense." And with that Sirius turned around and stalked back up the hill to school. The two friends who had been silently watching were shocked, _why was James starting a fight with Sirius? And why was Sirius backing away from a fight?_ It was just too uncharacteristic.

They remained still as James walked off in the other direction - down to the lake, before Remus finally turned on his worried looking friend, "Come on, Peter. I think we had better talk to Sirius first." The chubby boy bounced up and shakily followed the shaggy looking boy up the path.


	2. Quidditch

Hi, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic.

Thank you for even reading this far into the fic it means a lot to me. Hopefully you are enjoying it.

I hope you enjoy the second chapter :)

(**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter)

* * *

><p>How could she not know the spell? She was supposed to be smart, she was supposed to know everything so when the teacher asked her for the answer she could reply correctly. But how come she didn't know? It's not like she hadn't read the book. She'd finished it last week.<p>

"Detention Lily." Shouted the angry teacher.

"No!" Lily woke with a start, disorientated she looked around the familiar but empty common room. Her face creased with realisation as she sighed with relief, _it was just a dream. Relax, you don't have detention and you still know almost everything. Stop freaking out. _"I _have_ to stop studying so late." She muttered to herself, sitting up on the soft sofa, rolling her neck that was stiff from the angle she had been lying in. "Ow" she moaned.

The fire had died down to mere ashes with highlights of red embers. The only light shining into the room was from a few magically enhanced everlasting candles. The empty sofas and armchairs were a disconcerting sight considering they usually have students crammed onto them by the dozens. The study desks along the side of the room held only loose sheets of parchment with scribbled writing on them along with broken quills and empty ink pots.

Lily did a double take when she thought she saw a chair move slightly as her eyes were glancing past it. Her eyebrows creased in confusion, she rubbed her eyes making sure all the sleep was out of them and then looked around taking in the rest of the room. She didn't see anyone else around messing with her... So she shrugged and decided it must be her sleepy brain not fully awake yet, playing tricks on her eyes. As she made her way to the stairs leading up to the girls dormitory, she heard what she thought was a footstep behind her. Whipping her head around, a curtain of red hair flung a milisecond after. Studying the room, she brought out her wand slowly and whispered "Lumos" lighting the dark corners of the room up. But still she saw no one.

Heart racing fast, she spun around and ran up the stairs, into her dormitory shutting the door quickly behind her and leaning against it. Tapping her wand in the air she turned the lit tip out, plunging the room in darkness again. Letting her breathing slow and return to normal, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim room before standing up shakily. Her sleeping friends deep breathing calming her a little. She woundered why she was scared. _There was nothing there. I didn't see anything. Why am I so scared? I only thought I heard something. But clearly I was still half asleep. Nothing to worry about. _But she still could brush off the nagging feeling that someone had been watching here. Climbing into bed she forced her eyes closed and her mind to relax.

* * *

><p>Tami and Elle looked at her worried. Over the past six years of sharing a dorm with her this problem has never arose. They didn't know what to do. Should they wake Lily? Or should they leave her sleeping?<p>

Lily was _always_ awake before them. She never sleeps in, they both knew that. So letting her sleep for longer would be a nice thing, right? Wrong. Because Lily would be furious if she missed class. Over sleeping was a constant nightmare that would have her up half the night. So the best thing to do would be to wake her then, right? Wrong. Lily was most definitely not a morning person and would surely yell at the person who tried to wake her from her slumber. Herself and only herself can wake her up in the morning otherwise she would be in a foul mood the rest of the day. That was what Tami and Elle had learnt from six years of sleeping in the same room. And yet none of those six years had prepared neither Tami nor Elle for the wrath that was about to occur.

"Come on Lily, time to wake up." Said Tami gently, while she rocked her a little, trying to shake her out of the dream state she was in.

"What's going on?" Asked Lily loudly, sitting up straight in bed, causing Tami to jump back startled.

"Schools starting in half an hour. Didn't want you to miss breakfast." Lily didn't care why the woke her up. That was hardly important. Sleep is more important.

"Urgh!" Lily humphed as she lay back down. The sleep deprived state she had been in for awhile now was starting to get the better of her. Last night had been even worse because of what had happened in the common room. It had kept her up until the light began to peek through the window, listening out for strange noises. Unfortunately she heard nothing apart from the occasional werewolf howl – but it was a full moon, so what else did she suspect?

Stretching her stiff bones, Lily got out of bed, aware that Tami and Elle were still watching her.

Tami was the first one to speak out, "Lily we're worried about you! You aren't sleeping enough. You come to bed much later then anyone else. And you're – usually – awake before everyone. We think you're studying to hard."

"I'm only studying hard in comparison to you two." Lily said seeing where this conversation was going and disliking the end result. "Ah! Is that the time?" Her eyes widened in panic. "I have to go!" And with that she raced out of their dormitory.

"Thanks for waking me up!" Tami mimicked Lilys soft voice, "No, anytime! Honestly, it's ok! I enjoy your grumpy attitude in the morning." Tami said sarcastically.

* * *

><p>Sitting around the table, the boys, bleary eyed automatically brought food to their mouth. The morning after a full moon was always the worst. Getting up after so little sleep was bad enough without having to go to lessons too.<p>

"We were nearly caught, Prongs." Said Sirius, still annoyed about the incident in the common room last night.

James had apologised already, countless times. "Let it alone. Lily didn't see anything."

"But it was too close. Dumbledore is fine with it, but there is no telling what other students will do if they find out." Argued Sirius sticking up for his friend.

"I appreciate what you're saying, Sirius. But I don't think we have to worry about Lily." Remus said, as he remembered last year when he was sitting by the lake with her.

_It was just by chance that Remus turned to look out at the lake. He had been on his way to pick some Lovage for the Hospital Wing, when he had spotted Lily from behind sitting by the lake. The internal battle of going to comfort her or leaving her be, raged inside of him, before he walked down the hill towards her._

"_Lily?"_

_Glancing up, Remus saw Lily's tear stained cheeks, she burst into tears again._

_Remus was way out of his depth. "Hey now! It's ok. It's going to be ok. I know it hurts at the moment. But I promise it will get better." He took a seat down next to her._

_Lily let out a strangled laugh. "Here I am crying like a baby, when Snape only called me a-a mudblood..." Saying these words only created another bout of tears._

"_Behind every skin is a beautiful person." Remus said quietly. He had been told this many times, so it seemed only fiting for him to pass it on now._

"_Can I ask you something?" Lily suddenly asked, after a silent moment._

"_You just did."_

_Lily smiled through the tears. "Are you a werewolf?"_

_Remus coughed looking at her. "Um... wow. No one has ever outright asked me that." There was no denying the truth."How did you know?"_

_Lily stared out over the lake. "Severus figured it out."_

"_Right..." Remus sat still, worried at how Lily would take the news._

_Lily shuffled along the ground closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. The tears started pouring again. Remus rested his head on hers, and put an arm around her. Trying to comfort her._

"_How do you deal with the name calling?" Lily managed to get out around her crying._

"_I don't. I don't handle it. That's why I take the easy way out and don't tell anyone."_

_Lily stared blankly into space for a few moments."You know, someone once told me that 'behind every skin is a beautiful person'."_

_Remus let out a short laugh. "Must have been someone really smart." He said sarcastically._

_The two of them stayed outside by the lake thinking about their lives and enjoying the silence of each others company, until the sky turned dark and the chill reached them._

* * *

><p>The conversation had moved on from last nights adventures to the upcoming Quidditch match. "Hufflepuff is no competition." Said James confidentally.<p>

"With you on the team, Hufflepuff might as well quit now." Sirius bragged. Peter nodded.

As more students cleared the hall, Remus suggested they get going to class. Looking more energetic with food in their stomachs, the others agreed.

* * *

><p>Apprehension hung thick in the air. The students dressed in yellow and black robes stood on the ground glaring at the opposing Gryffindor team menacingly. James smirked back. This was going to be an easy defeat. As the whistle rose up to the referee's lips, the players moved the enchanted brooms to between their legs. Knees bent for the starting whistle.<p>

The whistle blew, and they were off.

James flew into the air and snatched the Quaffle out of the sky before the Hufflepuff Chasers got the chance. Leaning low over his broom, he moved around players at lightening speed. He made his way towards the 3 poles at Hufflepuffs end of the pitch. Bringing his arm back, he gained momentum before flinging the ball forward. It sailed through the air. Danny Johnson, the Hufflpuff Keeper, narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the Quaffle trying to judge which hoop it was travelling towards.

Johnson swerved to the left one. But he was too late. The Quaffle passed through the hole.

"10 points for Gryffindor!" Boomed a voice from the crowd, as the scoreboard changed, putting Gryffindor in the lead. A cheer erupted from Ravenclaw and the playing house, while Slytherin booed alongside Hufflepuff. James flew off grinning, easily dodging a Bludger that a Beater had aimed at him.

Hufflepuff was now in charge of the Quaffle. Passing the ball between Reynolds, Baker, Sullivan and back again. The Gryffindor team couldn't break the other teams' formation long enough to steal it back. As they neared the hoops, James started to worry they would score the points. But the three of them were no match for Gryffindors Keeper. He had stopped far more Quaffles in his time as Keeper, than anyone of the other teams' Keepers had.

* * *

><p>The two Seekers from opposing teams circled above the rest of the players, eyes alert for a small Golden Snitch. Both knew that finding and catching the small ball first would make their team win with a potential 150 point advantage. Riker was Seeker and Captain of the Gryffindor team, he knew James was a good player. But he also knew that his downfall was his ego. While keeping one eye focused on the game being played below him, he used the other to search for the ball it was his job to catch.<p>

"Another 10 points for Hufflepuff!" The annoying commentator never relented.

There it was. Just like that. The sun moved out from behind a cloud and caught the Golden Snitch making it glint in the light. Riker was off. Chasing after the incredibly fast little Snitch. The other Seeker was alerted when Riker zoomed passed him. Looking at where Riker was staring hard, he found the ball, and followed after Riker with haste.

Zigging this way and that, Riker plunged to the ground, then soared to the sky. Following the exact moves the Snitch made. Last time Riker had tuned in to the commentator the score had been 50-30 to Gryffindor. If Riker managed to catch this ball his team would win the match.

Stretching out his arm, he willed his broom to move faster. Or his fingers to stretch longer. As Rikers hand was just about to close on the Golden Snitch, it zoomed to the right fast, surprising him. When he turned to follow, he could no longer see the Snitch, neither could his opponent. So Riker slowly made his way back above the teams, eyes like a hawk as he searched for the Golden Snitch.

* * *

><p>Her knuckles were white as they gripped tightly on the rail in front of her. Everyones' necks stiff from looking up at the players, but Lily barely noticed. She gasped, as Sullivan was nearly thrown off his broom by a Bludger sent by Gryffindor, getting sucked into the game even more.<p>

The score was 100-80 to Hufflepuff, but it was still anyones game. If Riker caught the Snitch now, Gryffindor could still win. Lily squinted up at the players, she had lost track of the Quaffle. Being so far below the game it made it hard to understand what was happening. The crowd helped by cheering ridiculously loud when Gryffindor scored, or booing like crazy when Hufflepuff got the Quaffle through the hoop.

The three girls were heavily clad in gold and red clothing to show their support for the team. While Lily sat enthralled with the game being played overhead, Elle and Tami sat beside her talking to each other.

"Will you please be quiet! It's distracting!" Lily snapped at her friends, fighting to be heard over the noise from spectators.

"Distracting you from drooling over Potter?" Tami teased her.

Lily shook her head. "Don't be crazy Tami! I am here to support Gryffindor. Besides you practically begged me to come and now you aren't even watching it!"

"I find Quidditch boring." Said Tami. "It's the after parties I like."

Lily rolled her eyes and turned away staring up at the game again. A cheer went up from Gryffindor, Lily joined in, listening to the commentator "That's 10 points to Gryffindor thanks to Potter! Which now brings the total to 100-90!"

Someone in the crowd had started a chant, "Fly, Fly Gryffindor!" It was steadily growing momentum as more and more joined in. Lily saw that Tami and Elle had stopped chatting to participate and so she did too.

* * *

><p>James had just scored another goal for Gryffindor and he was feeling pretty good about it. Although he was unhappy that Hufflepuff was still in the lead. He had been flying back to defend Reynolds when he heard a chant being yelled from the Gryffindors in the stands. Smiling to himself, he looked down and caught a glimpse of Lily and her friends joining the yelling. She looked mental with her red hair being whipped into her face by the wind, and her mouth straining to yell louder.<p>

Taking his eyes off Lily, he turned around with enough time to see the Quaffle being passed from Sullivan to Reynolds. James flattened himself on the broom and speed up. Intercepting the ball from between the two Hufflepuffs was easy.

He zoomed back over to the hoops and passed the ball to a fellow Gryffindor Chaser. She scored another 10 points for Gryffindor. The sounds of screaming rose to meet their ears.

"Well played!" Hannah said as she came to a stop near James.

"Nice shot." He replied.

James looked up to see what Riker was doing. Gryffindor was at 100 points, this was the ideal time to catch the Snitch and boost their points. Giving Gryffindor a 250 point head start for the season. Riker looked like he was chasing something. That could only mean one thing. His eyes were locked on the Snitch. The Hufflepuff Beaters noticed too. Gripping their bats they started aiming Bludgers at Riker. Although James would have liked to continue watching the Seeker, the game had to be continued incase Riker failed.

He zoomed down the field with Hannah, chasing the Quaffle that was in Reynolds hand. Before they could catch up to him and have a chance of getting it back, Reynold lobbed the Quaffle at the middle hoop. But luckily for Gryffindor their Keeper was on to it; Ryan slamed his broom around and smacked the Quaffle away with it's bristles.

Hannah caught the ball as it soared through the air. She made her way back down to the end of the pitch that she had just come from. James flew with her, keeping an eye on her, the other three Chasers and the two Beaters (who were already preoccupied with Riker). Hannah gave a pretend throw to the right hoop, which made Hufflepuffs' Keeper dive for it, before she actually threw it over to James. Who put it nicely through the left hoop gaining 10 more points for Gryffindor.

* * *

><p>Riker was so close now. The Snitch was in his reach. He drew out a hand and... He snatched the ball out of the air. He had done it. He had won Gryffindor the game. He slowed his broom and raised the hand with the Snitch showing everyone he had caught it while still keeping a firm grip on the sneaky ball.<p>

The cheer that erupted from the crowd was deafening. The commentator fought to be heard above the noise. "Riker had caught the Snitch! 150 points goes to Gryffindor! With the final score at 260-100, Gryffindor wins the first match of this season!"

All the players touched down to the ground. The Gryffindor players raced to their Captain cheering loudly alongside the spectators. Riker held the Snitch above his head as swarms of Gryffindors raced from the stands to congratulate the players.

* * *

><p>Lily hadn't stopped beaming once the commentator had shouted that Gryffindor had won. Tami pulled her from the stands so they could join in the celebrations below, with everyone else. Lily stopped next to Hannah and pulled her into a tight hug.<p>

"Well done," She said, "You were brilliant!"

"Thanks!" Hannah laughed.

Lily turned around but couldn't see Tami and Elle anywhere. She wasn't too bothered they would turn up eventually. When Lily glanced back to where Hannah had been just a moment before, she was no longer there. Instead, in her place, was James.

"Congratulations!" Lily had to shout over the roaring crowd. "You played so well!"

James smirked. "So you were watching me?"

Lily's cheeks flushed in embarrasment, but she hoped James thought it was just excitement. "Not you specifically! I mean, I saw you... I was watching everyone though. I thought everyone played well."

Seeing Lily get flustered made him smile even more. "Right. Well that's cool! Glad you enjoyed the game."

Lily nodded her head enthusiastically. "I really did!"

Before James could respond, they heard Riker yell out above the noise. "Party in Gryffindor Common Room!" The appreciative squeals of delight were made by everyone.

James nodded towards the castle, "Want to go?"

"Yes." The two of them moved in time up towards the massive party that was about to ensue.

* * *

><p>Someone must have alerted the resident House Elves to the party that was making its way over because when Lily and James arrived food had been layed out and chairs had been pushed back to make room for the massive influx of people.<p>

Once they had squeezed into the room, James asked if Lily wanted a drink. After she agreed, James had walked off to find something for the both of them. Lily felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned around to see who it was. She saw Elle and Tami grinning down at her with wide eyes.

"What?" Lily asked.

Leaning forward so that only Lily could hear, Tami started singing. "Lily and James sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes lo-" Lily placed her hand over Tamis' mouth to make her stop.

Lily glanced around the room making sure James wasn't in ear shot before glaring at her two friends. "It is _not _like that! He is just being polite."

Tami and Elle nodded but they didn't believe a word of what Lily was saying. Glancing behind her they spotted James making his way over and quickly leave the two of them alone.

"A pumpkin juice for you. Hope that was ok?" Lily turned around to see James holding two drinks in his hands. Taking one drink from him she took a sip.

"Perfect!" She said with a smile.

* * *

><p>As the party continued, it grew more and more out of control. With magic involved things tended to be a little more hectic. After only fifteen minutes of partying, Professor McGonagall, head of house, came into the common room and silenced everyone.<p>

"Congratulations on winning Gryffindor but the party is ending. Everyone please return to their respective houses. And as for the rest of you..." She paused, looking around at everyones' hopeful faces. "Well ok... Party quieter." A cheer of appreciation went up from the Gryffindors. "I said quieter!" She said exasperated.

Professor McGonagall made her way over to James and Lily. "Sorry to interrupt. But Lily if you would come with me for a moment?"

Nodding, Lily set down her drink and waved a goodbye to James, before following the teacher out of the room.


	3. A Meeting

_Hi, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_Thanks for reading this fic, please review! Let me know what your thinking! Good? Bad? Indifferent? Whatever it is, let me know :)_

_Although I try to follow the little bits that J.K. Rowling told us about life at Hogwarts during the 70's, from Harry Potter, this fanfic does not follow it exactly. This is really just to fulfill my own curiousity more so than to be completely factual – but I do try!_

_As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter xx_

_(**Disclaimer: **I am, unfortunatly, not J.K. Rowling and therefore do not own Harry Potter.)_

* * *

><p><em>Tami was totally clueless<em> Lily though.

"I can't understand why you two don't go out already! You like him, and he clearly likes you. So what's the problem?" They were walking across the green grass in the early morning chill.

"I think you're getting confused between 'like' and 'despise', Tami." Lily said, looking frustrated as usual whenever James' name was brought up.

"Like. Despise. Same thing!"

"I think I might have to buy you a dictionary for christmas..."

"A what!" Tami said horrified. She didn't know what a _dictionary_ was, but it couldn't be good.

"Honestly, Tami, don't you pay any attention in muggle studdies?" Asked Lily.

"No!" Said Tami as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "It's bloody boring!" She paused before continuing with a sly smile, "Besides Riker sits right in front of me." Letting out a sigh of disbelief, Lily sat down claiming their usual spot by the lake. The others quickly followed suit.

"But, I think we need to discuss more pressing matters. What happened between you and James last night at the Gryffindor party?" Tami asked Lily excitedly.

"Nothing. We just talked for a while and then Professor McGonnogal came and I had to go talk to her." Lily told her friends.

"Oh." Said Tami disappointed. "What did McGonnogal want?"

"She just asked me to help some new kid in her Transfiguration class that needed a little tutoring." Lily replied.

Tami looked bored with the conversation. "You're overworked already, Lily. I hope you said no."

"Of course I said yes!" Lily said indignantly. "I'm a prefect. I couldn't say no! Apparently, I'll be helping them this Saturday, and if she can get another sixth former to help then I'll be stuck with them. Let's just hope it's not James, right?"

"Speak of the devil!" Tami brightened up instantly.

"Whats up, Evans?" James said taking a seat beside her, while his other friends sat in the other available spaces. Tami looked pleased when Sirius went and sat next to her, whereas Lily just looked resigned.

"We were just enjoying the quiet around here. Not many students come down here, so it's really good." She hoped to get the message across without having to directly tell him that he was unwanted. While Lily was hinting at James to leave, Tami struck up a conversation with Sirius about Hogsmeade, and Elle did the same with Remus only about school. Peter sat between the two eavesdropping on both conversations.

"Are you kidding? Ancient Runes is so easy!" Elle said in response to Remus's complaining.

Tami tucked some of her blonde curls behind her ear, and giggled, turning away from Sirius as if embarrased at the compliment he had just given her.

"Don't you think the lake is really pretty at this time of year?" James asked Lily trying to start a conversation with her, while the others all talked amongst themselves.

Staring out the huge blue lake, Lily thought about the answer, "...yeah, I do."

Pleased that Lily had answered, and was participating in this conversation, he tried to keep it interesting, "Did you know that Merpeople live in the lake?" Trying to impress her with his casual knowledge.

"No?" She said. She didn't believe him. Of course she had heard rumors. But in _Hogwarts: A History_ it very clearly stated they had died out years ago.

"It's true! There are! Ugly as hell, too."

After the laughter in her throat had died down, she finally said, "Mermaids aren't ugly! They're beautiful!"

"No. I swear on Merlins Beard, that I am not lying to you." James said his face wiped clear of any trace of laughter.

She smiled, challenging him, then said, "Prove it."

Thinking about this for a few moments, James smiled at her and said, "OK. Tonight. Meet me in the common room at 10?"

Lily was surprised, but not unwilling, "I'll be there." She didn't think that James would actually agree to this. She didn't think that there were Mermaids in the lake. _Clearly she was wrong. That or James had said anything he could to spend time with her – but that seemed a little over the top._

"Oh and be prepared to get wet." He said with a smile as he rose up from the ground. The other boys looked up as they saw him. Saying bye to the girls they then got up and joined James with the ascent up the hill back to the castle.

* * *

><p>Tami let out a little squeal as they saw their shadowy figures go out of hearing range. "I think I am in love!" She said loudly, "He is so georgeous. How come I've never been out with him again?" She asked her two friends who sighed loudly.<p>

"Because he is never single. Always has a girlfriend. Not good news, remember?" Said Elle being rational as usual.

Tami sighed frustrated, "Yeah, but he's single now." She said hopefully.

Lily had stopped listening to their conversation when she heard Tami's premature decleration of love. Looking out onto the lake, she saw the deep blue water lapping at the overgrown green foliage along the side. _It really is beautiful_ she thought.

"Lily!" Tami said, breaking her train of thought.

Looking up at her friends, Lily asked, "Yes?" She couldn't keep the smile off her face. _Tonight. Meet me in the common room. _She kept repeating everything James had said to her, _Oh and be prepared to get wet. What was that supposed to mean? Was that a joke? He wasn't going to throw her into the water. He couldn't. Could he?_

"Well...? What did you and James talk about?" Tami asked, Elle leaned forward curiously.

The three of them got up from their seats on the ground, and followed the boys inside. "Oh nothing. Just boring chit-chat." Disappointed with the answer, Tami and Elle kept pestering her, but she only responded with vague answers.

After awhile, Elle could sense Lilys' discomfort and changed the topic for her. "Lily can you help me translate this?" Elle asked leaning over holding out her book.

Lily looked at the ancient runes on the page. "Sure. What is it?"

"The Tales of Beadle the Bard."

"What's that?" Lily asked.

"It's about-" Elle began, but was interrupted by Tami.

"The Tales of Beadle the Bard? You've never heard of it? It's like _the_ story that all the parents tell their children. Of course, it's just a bunch of nonsence fairy tales really..."

Lily looked at her friends, confused, "I don't think I've heard them before." _How had she never heard about it before?_

"But _everyone's_ parents read it to them..." Tami trailed off.

"Her parents are Muggles, Tami." Elle said glaring at Tami over the table. "My mum used to read them to me when I was young. But when my dad heard the stories... Well he started to read me muggle fairy tales. Mum gave me this book before I came back this year, and I've nearly finished translating everything."

"That's really sweet, Elle." Lily said smiling. "Let's see if I can translate this...What's the story about?"

Elle gave her a brief synopsis of the story. "The one I'm translating at the moment is, The Fountain of Fair Fortune. It's about these 3 Witches, Asha who suffers from a disease. Althesa, who endures poverty and powerlessness due to a robbery. And the the third, Amata, who is distraught after being left by her beloved. They travel to the Fountain of Fair Fortune, and face three challenges. After facing these challenges they realise they cured their problems themselves. But I'm stuck on the last line. It's a long sentence and the Runes are confusing me."

Lily studied the Runes for a couple of minutes, with a look of deep concentration, before reading aloud, "The three witches and the knight set off down the hill together, arm in arm, and all four led long and happy lives, and none of them..." she paused searching for the right Rune, "ever knew or suspected that the Fountain's waters carried no enchantment at all."

Elle smiled as she heard the ending. "Guess ignorance really is bliss." She joked. "Thanks for translating it for me."

"Anytime!" Lily smiled, _that was a nice ending_. She would have to borrow _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ off Elle someday so she could appreciate it better.

* * *

><p>"So what did you two talk about?" Remus asked as they headed towards the main doors to the castle. He was pleased that something good had clearly happened between his best friend and Lily.<p>

"Oh you know? Bit of this, bit of that." James hadn't stoped grinning since he walked away from Lily and her friends. All four friends stopped in their tracks as a third year came running up to them. Short of breath, he panted "Professor Mcgonnagall wants to see you right away, Potter."

"What for?" James asked, he could think of no reason why the Head of Gryffindor house would want to talk to him. It's not like he had set fire to the common room lately...

"No idea, all she said was 'find Potter and tell him I want to see him. Right away.' So thats what I'm doing" He smiled up at the sixth formers.

James and Sirius walked away, without another word, followed closely by Peter. Remus sighed, "Thanks Teddy. You're a good kid, stay smart, yeah?" He smiled down at the kid who beamed back at him.

"Thanks Remus! Yeah, course I will!" He said as he waved goodbye. The older boy watched Teddy as he raced down the corridor tripping on the flat ground a few times. Shaking his head, Remus walked quickly to join his friends again, he caught the last bit of their conversation.

"So I take it she wasn't too annoyed that we joined them?" Sirius asked as they slowed down, when reaching Proffesor Mcgonnagalls office.

Pausing with his hand on the door James turned towards his friends, "I'd say not. Considering I have a date with her tonight." And with that he left his friends staring at the closed door, speechless.

* * *

><p>"Potter, sit down." Came a voice from behind a desk stacked with bits of paper. The transfiguration teacher waved her wand and a cupboard was immediately transformed into a chair, then softly floated to the other side of her desk. James did as he was told to and took a seat on the newly formed chair.<p>

"Afternoon Professor, how are you?" He asked politely. But McGonagall was having none of it. James had been in her office a few too many times. She knew his previous record, and so she wasn't shocked to hear from Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher.

McGonagall sighed, getting straight to the point, "James, it's the first week of school. And Professor Binns has already given you detention every lunchtime next week. What do you have to say for yourself?" The high black collar of her shirt, only accentuated her pale complexion. When she frowned the beginnings of wrinkles could be seen in the folds on her skin. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her pointed hat had been placed perfectly on her head.

James leaned back in the chair, "Professor Binns is dead boring." He stated bluntly, causing Professor McGonagall to hide her smile. "Of course this isn't helped by the subject choice of his, and his monotone or the fact that he _is a ghost_! So it was only a matter of time before someone fell asleep during class. Could have been anyone!"

"Yes, but, as usual, it was you." This conversation was wasted on James, and the teacher knew this. Over the past six years, she had grown to know James and Sirius better then any other students in Gryffindor house, this is because of their constant trouble making earning them a detention every other week.

Having heard this speech a thousand times before, James wasn't really listening to anything McGonagall was saying, "You're right. Sorry Professor, won't happen again." He knew these were the words she wanted to hear and so he made it easy for her.

McGonagall looked at James for a long moment before finally nodding, "If only that were true." She started shuffling papers on her desk piling them into some order, "Well Professor Binns won't budge. You have detention for a week starting Monday every lunch period, 1pm sharp. Don't be late." She warned, "You can leave now." With that James got up and headed to the door, surprised at the lack of a lecture in behaviour which was usually given.

"Oh and Potter..." _Dammit! So close._

Turning back to face McGonagall, "Yes?"

"Try and stay out of trouble please. Pass the message onto Sirius too." Knowing this would not stop the two of them at all, she still had to try. It was her duty as the Head of House to.

"I'll pass that on." James said as he turned back to the door and then left the room.

* * *

><p>Lily looked through her trunk for what seemed like the hundreth time that afternoon. Most of its contents were now spread out over her bed. "What are you looking for?" Asked Elle, who was sitting on her own bed reading the same book as earlier.<p>

"Something to wear!" Lily held a yellow dress up to herself, and looked in the mirror. Seeing Elle's horrified expression in the reflection, she threw the dress back on the bed, "It's no use. I just – I can't go. Yup, that's what I'll do. I'll just go down there and make up some excuse as to why I can't go..."

"Lily, what are you rambling on about?"

"This stupid date with Potter that I said I would go on. If you can even call it a date. Which I don't think you can. So technically bailing really isn't that bad, is it? Oh god! Do you think I'm a horrible person, Elle!" Lily plonked herself unceremoniously into the midst of her wardrobe.

"I feel like I should slap you or something, so that you snap out of these hysterics" Pausing for a milisecond, Elle finally registered on what Lily had said, "Wait! Hold on a minute! Did you just say 'date with Potter'? I must be dreaming! This is not happening? What's going on?"

"Well when we were out by the lake, I sort of agreed to meet up with him later tonight. But it's not a date. Never was the word date brought up. It is just a meeting between two friends..."

She had put her book away and was staring at Lily intently with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell Tami and I earlier?" Elle asked a little hurt.

Lily looked straight at Elle as if the answer was obvious, which it was, "Because you two would just over-react like you're doing now." Continuing shuffling through her clothes, trying to find something appropriate to wear for her 'meeting'

"I'm not the one over-reacting about what to wear tonight..."

Lily looked up at Elle from a small selection of her wardrobe from home, "Come on! Please just help me find something in here." She montioned at her bed with a wide sweep of her arms.

"What time are you 'meeting up' with James?" Elle asked using air quotation marks.

"10."

"We still have four hours, Lily." Elle started picking her book back up again. But Lily strode over to her bed and grabbed the book out of her friends hand.

"Yeah and we are going to need all four hours to find something for me to wear!" Elle got up from her bed, rolling her eyes at her friends vanity.

"Ok." She said as she plunged her hands into the pile of clothes picking out possible compilations.

* * *

><p>"You look amazing!" Tami said as Lily turned around.<p>

Elle nodded in agreement, "So pretty!" Lily blushed.

"Thanks, you guys!" She hadn't wanted to involve Tami as Lily knew she had a tendancy to get over-excited. But in the end she was glad with the decision. _Her outfit,_ she admitted, _did look rather good._

Lily glanced at the clock beside her bed, which she decided was running slow. The minutes seemed to pass like hours not 60 seconds. As soon as the big hand made the clock read 9.58, Lily started heading towards the door. But Tami stopped her.

"Woah! What are you doing? It's not even 10 yet." she asked.

Lily looked confused, "Yeah, but it's nearly 10. That's when I'm meeting him. I don't want to be late..."

"Uhhh, yeah. You do. Trust me. It's good to keep them waiting for a little bit. Not too long because they'll think you have forgotten or just aren't interested. But if you show up on time – or god forbid early – then you just look to needy. You see?" Lily really didn't see. _Why does it matter what time I show up?_ But, if only to get Tami to shut up, she nodded her head and arranged her face so that it looked like she understood.

"Are you nervous Lily?" asked Elle.

Tami turned on Elle, "Way to make her nervous! She probably wasn't worried until you put the idea into her mind that she should be nervous!"

Elle looked as if she was about to apologise, bt Lily interupted, "It's ok. Don't worry about it. I'm not nervous, honestly. Why should I be? It's just James, right?"

"Right!" Elle and Tami chorused in unison, nodding their heads, smiling wide trying to make it seem like there was nothing to worry about. That this was no big deal. But Lily could see past this illusion, and was nervous. Even she didn't know why. _It was just Potter. And up until now she had despised him. He was a bully. So why now did she suddenly like him?_


	4. Mermaids

Hey, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic :)

Thanks for reading my fic! Hopefully you're enjoying! :D

I want to thank my Beta, Lauren, for reading all of my chapters and shifting through the bad grammar! I LUSH YOU! 3

I'm sorry for the delay till this chapter! I've been on holiday and haven't been able to update! But I have been writing more chapters, so with any luck they will be up soon!

And once again, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Xx

_(**Disclaimer:** I most greviously admit that I do not own Harry Potter.)_

* * *

><p><em>It was 10.05. Where was Lily? I had said 10 right? Maybe she backed out? Maybe she was never going to come? She just said she would to get me to leave.<em> All of these terrible thoughts ran through James' mind as he paced the Gryffindor common room. There were only a few people still left, finishing homework or chatting quietly with friends. James sat down on one of the many inviting arm chairs and ruffled his hair out of habit.

"I hate it when you do that, you know?" Said a voice from behind him, he smiled.

_She didn't just say she would come to get me to leave! Wait – Hate it when I do what? Tell me so I can stop. _He stood up and turned around quickly, grinning at the sight of her.

"Sorry I was late, homework and stuff, you know?" She shrugged it off.

James didn't know, but he didn't care. He was just happy she had come. Lily stood there smiling at him, wearing dark blue skin tight jeans and black muscle back top. Draped in her hands was a grey knitted jumper.

"That's fine, I was running a little late myself. So it was lucky really." That was a lie. He had gotten here five minutes early, just incase she was early. But he didn't want to seem too desperate. "Ready?"

Lily nodded, "Ready."

"Well then, this way." James said as he gestured to the portait covering the hole in the wall, leading to the outside hallways. The few people looked up to see why someone was leaving the common room so late – which was against the rules. But when they realised Potter was involved, they turned back to whatever they had been doing.

James closed the portrait door behind him and pulled something out of his jacket pocket. Lily looked at it confused, "What is it?" She asked.

James grinned at her, "It's our way out of the school undetected." Lily had no idea what he meant by this. Infact she was more confused than before. How could a piece of material get them out of the school? She knew she shouldn't have agreed to go out with James. He was completely insane.

He flung the big square of material over himself and he vanished. She was left standing alone in the corridor. "Over here!" came Potters voice from behind her, but he wasn't there when she turned around.

"James! This isn't funny!" Lily said getting annoyed.

James just laughed as he pulled off the cloak and appeared in front of her again. "It's an invisibilty cloak. It was my fathers. It's how we get around without teachers finding us. But keep quiet about it, I just let you in on a massive Marauders secret. You better not betray us. I told the guys we could trust you. Can we?" The Marauders were what James, Sirius, Remus and Peter called themselves. And now Lily finally understood how the teachers had such trouble finding anyone to blame for all the trouble they caused.

"You can trust me." Lily said nodding. Even though she disagreed with the use of this cloak to annoy people and break school rules, she did believe in trust. And Lily was an excellent secret-keeper.

James smiled, "I knew I could." He held out the cloak and raised a questioning eyebrow. Lily moved closer to James and grabbed one end of the cloak, lifting it over herself so that she was fully covered – and apparently invisible to everyone else. Under the cloak it was surprisingly spacious. Of course it would have to be as four tall teenage boys had to fit under there on a regular basis.

* * *

><p>They crept quietly through Hogwarts many complicated corridors. When they arrived at the main door Lily reached for the handle and pulled. But nothing happened. The door had been locked. Before she could reach for her wand, James whispered "Alohomora" while pointing his wand at the lock. Trying the door again it pushed open easily.<p>

"Alohomora?" Lily had learnt that spell her first year at school.

"It's a spell to unlock locks."

"I know what it is!" Lily hissed back, insulted. "But surely Dumbledore would have made it harder to get out of the school, or in for that matter."

James looked at Lily, smiled. "Clearly not. We're lucky it's so easy."

Under the cloak the two of them made it down to the edge of the river where they had all been sitting earlier that day. In the darkness of the night, Hogwarts looked more ominous then it had during the day time. Lily kept looking behind her with apprehension. She didn't break the rules. This wasn't like her. Being out of bed after dark was grounds for suspension if they got caught. And being a Prefect only made it worse.

James noticed her glances back to the castle. "Scared Evans?" He asked with a mocking tone.

"No." Lily said indignantly, "I was checking to see if anyone had followed us."

James nodded, "Sure. But... no one can see us. That would make it hard for them to follow us." He pointed out.

"Well..." Lily struggled to come up with a good counter argument, "they can still hear us. And we aren't exactly being quiet. Besides I'm sure someone would notice doors opening and closing with no one around."

James seemed to think for a bit, "Ghosts are notoriously cheeky." He stated.

"You have a come back for everything don't you?" Said Lily smiling. He had won this time. But this wasn't a streak she intended to let him continue with.

He chuckled, as they came to a stop beside the river. He tugged the cloak off both of them, and tucked it back into his pocket. Pulling out his wand he muttered "Lumos", casting a dim glow over the waters dark surface.

Lily still had no clue what was going to happen. "How are you going to prove that Mermaids do exsist then? And are, infact, ugly?" She asked sceptically.

"First thing's first - Merpeople. They hate it when people call them Mermaids. Secondly, I told you to expect to get wet..." Leaving the sentence hanging, he walked over to the waters edge and crouched down touching the water with just the tips of his fingers. "Merpeople can't be understood above water. But I figured this wasn't really important considering our deal wasn't to prove that they can talk it was to prove that they were not the prettiest of creatures."

Lily just nodded in agreement. She had read about Merpeople in books of course, so she knew that they could not talk above water and she had read how the books had described them. But the books seemed very polite, not outright calling them ugly.

James pointed out to the middle of the lake. Lily looked where he was pointing, but the light was too dim and didn't reach that far. She squinted trying to see, and finally noticed a small ripple over the surface. Frowning she was unsure whether that was what she was meant to be seeing or if there was something else.

She was still looking out at the centre of the lake when something popped out of the water right in front of her. Letting out a litte scream, Lily fell back on the damp grass. James laughed but turned around and helped her up. Turning bright red, Lily gritted her teeth and was about to tell James to stop laughing at her when she remembered what had frightened in the first place. Facing the lake again, her eyes widen at the sight. The first thing Lily noticed about the two creatures in front of her was the Merpeoples' grey skin that blended into their dark green hair which tangled down past their sholders. Lily's mouth opened as she stiffled a gasp. The Merpeople looked in her eyes, the bright yellow of them startled her.

The two of them tilted their heads in unison. Lily straightened up a little, wondering what to expect. The Merpeople opened their mouths wide, showing her their broken yellow teeth. When Lily heard the awful screeching noise that came from them, she grimaced and turned away covering her ears. Lily saw James furrowing his eyebrows together and pulling back from the lake slightly. "They're trying to sing" he yelled over the noise.

Suddenly they turned away from the two students standing on the bank. James started moving back a few paces. Lily was still looking at the Merpeople mesmorised. Plunging back into the dark lake their silver tails flicked above the water and smashed back down, sending pools of water outwards drenching Lily. She gasped as the icey lake water sunk into her skin. Shivering in the moonlight, she turned around to see a dry James trying to supress his laughter.

Flicking the water off her hands, she glared at James "S-stop. Laughing. At. M-me." Of course this only made him laugh even more. Making a sound at the back of her throat she started to walk up the hill back to the school.

"No! Stop!" James said still chuckling but trying to straighten out his face, "I'm sorry!" He followed her a few steps and reached her hand pulling her back. "Stop, ok?" She turned back to face him eyebrows raised, the intended effect some what dulled by the water dripping off every surface. "I really am sorry." James looked her straight in the eye, keeping a firm grasp on both of her hands, "I should have told you to move back because I knew that would happen."

Despite her more sensible interests, her heart quickened it's pace. _Those eyes! Those gorgeous eyes!_ She thought, while trying to clear her head. Staring into his mesmerising eyes was turning her brain to mush. The inability to speak was a first for her and she found it very disconcerting. "Its-s o-o-ok..." She said, her teeth chattering so loudly together, Lily wondered if James could understand her at all.

Pulling out his wand he pointed it at a patch of grass near the lake.

"Incendio!" He muttered, flicking his wand. A small fire sprung up from nothing crackling with heat. James led Lily over to it, sat her down and joined her on the grass.

"W-w-won't s-s-someone see the f-f-fire?" Lily asked, stammering, still cold.

"If they do we can get under my cloak and disappear" James said, while he placed one arm around Lily, rubbing his hand up her arm fast to warm her up with friction.

Holding her hands close to flames, Lily began to feel heat cut through the numbness. Looking into the flames she was vividly aware of James' close proximity to her. With a sideways glance at him, she asked, "So _why_ didn't you t-tell me to move back?"

"In my defense I did warn you that you were going to get wet..."

"Ahh, the I-told-you-so. Always a classy move." Lily said sarcastically.

"Ok, ok. I get it. I'm sorry. I should have told you. But there was no one there to tell me. So if it makes you feel better: I got completely soaked when I first saw them too." Lily smiled. That did make her feel better.

"Well then I guess I have no choice but to believe you..." Lily said, hoping she wouldn't regret this decision.

"Good" said James as he stood up.

Lily was confused, _she had forgiven him, hadn't she?_ "Where are you going?" She asked.

"Lumos" James said lighting the tip of his wand up as he moved up and down the water front, doubled over, searching for something, "Looking for something..."

Lily started to stand up, "Did you drop something? I can help you-"

"Aha!" James bent over and picked up something, knocking his wand in the air. The light faded fast leaving them in shadows. "I found it!" He called through the dark. Lily peered around the fire trying to see him.

When he emerged her grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the ground. "What did you find?" She asked. He handed her a slimey green rock. Romantic. "Oh, um... Thank you?" Lily didn't know what else to say.

James smiled, he knew she was confused, "Whenever the Merpeople come up they always bring a shell or something from their village in the middle of the lake." Taking it back off her, James used his jumper sleeve to wipe away the green mould sitting on top, to show a beautiful shell that had been hidden underneath.

Lily gasped, the bright yellow shell hadn't been dulled by the murky water one bit. In the firelight it shined an almost golden colour. "Behind every skin is a beautiful person." She murmered too low for James to hear. She was awe struck as she took the shell James had handed to her.

* * *

><p>"DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?" The lady glared at them from her portrait. Lily took a small step back, glancing down the corridors with a worried expression on her face. James, who had dealt with her on many occasion had grown used to this bellowing at the late hour.<p>

"We do. That's why we would like to go in so that we can sleep." He said in a calm voice to the fat lady. But she didn't look like she was going to let them in any time soon. "Preferably _before_ school starts." James added.

The lady sitting in the portrait sighed. Kids thought they could wonder in at all hours of the day and night because it 'wouldn't bother her', they never thought about the poor person who has to sit staring at the same block of wall opposite her all day every day. The only thing that the fat lady could do was sit there and listen as kids tried to guess the new password she had made up. After a week the amusement of this had died out somewhat and, this being her seventh year, was just ridiculous. She hoped one day Dumbledore would move her to a place were her talents might be better utilised, although she once was a proud Gryffindor, her time to live has now passed, and she believed she was made for bigger and better things.

"Password?" She repeated, if only to make the kids stand out in the corridor a little longer in the hopes that some teacher would walk past and issue them a detention for irritating her endlessly... and for being out of bed after hours.

"Wattlebird." James stated again.

Looking down at the two Gryffindors, she raised her eyebrows. "Correct." The portrait door swung open as she followed the pair with her disapproving eyes.

The common room was empty. Everyone was already in bed asleep - like the two of them should be.

* * *

><p>"Mails here." Tami said, looking up from the breakfast table.<p>

"Must you say that every day?" Asked Lily, grumbling, as she spooned cereal into her mouth. She had already had the bombardment of questions from Tami and Elle last night. They had stayed up especially to talk to her when she got back. Unfortuantly because of that it meant they were all very tired now, and prone to being snappier then usual.

Tami looked back down to Lily. "Just because you don't get mail…"

"I do so get mail!"

"The Daily Prophet doesn't count…" Said Tami, as she caught a thick envelope of parchment neatly. Lily, however, let her owl drop the Daily Prophet on her lap before placing a few sickles into the pouch tied around its leg.

She untied the string that was wound around the outside of the prophet. "It's getting worse." She told Elle and Tami, after quickly scanning the main article.

"Who Knows Who?" She started reading aloud, "The Dark Wizard responsible for these horrific crimes has yet to come forward. Those who are close to him and do his bidding, are calling themselves 'Death Eaters'. Little is known about these Wizards or who they are." Lily looked up worried, but continued reading. "The Minster of Magic assures everyone that 'there is no need to worry.' He continues to say, 'Whoever this wizard is, he is a coward and is only fear mongering-"

Tami interrupted Lily, "Fear mongering?"

"Fear mongering is the use of fear to influence the opinions and actions of others towards some specific end." Lily explained. "But honestly, how thick can he get? All those people who have died… someone needs to take action." She said passionately.

Lily scanned the rest of the article picking out any relevant information to share with Tami and Elle. Towards the end she read out the few listed Witches and Wizards who have disappeared.

Tami grabbed the paper out of Lily's hand and looked over it. "There's a small article here about a Muggle family that was found in their house, murdered. Wizard doctors say it looks to be the work of the Killing Curse. But the Muggle Police and Doctors have no clue how the family were murdered." She tried to hide her smile. But Lily saw it, and grabbed the paper back.

Reading the whole article through in her head didn't take long. But when she saw the address she froze. The house was in Spinners End, close to her own home. Her family would be sitting around the table, eating breakfast, naïve to the horror that is terrorising the Wizarding world.

Lily didn't even know what she was doing. All she knew was that she had to get out of the Dining Hall and somehow get in contact with her family.

"Lily! Wait, no!" Tami raced out of the Hall behind her. "I wasn't laughing at them dying," She said in the deserted corridor, "Just at the police for not knowing! I'm sorry, I forgot you were a-" She caught herself.

But it was too late. Lily had heard the unspoken word, like she could read Tami's thoughts. "A what? A mudblood?" She asked angrily.

Tami desperately tried to back pedal. "No! Lily I would never call you that."

Lily sighed, trying to calm herself down. "I know you wouldn't. I'm just… freaking out. They lived in Spinners End which is near my family," She paused, "I'm worried for them."

"Oh, Lily, I'm sorry. I'm sure your family is fine." Tami said, pulling her friend into a tight hug. Lily smiled at her. Knowing that she was forgiven, Tami dragged her back into the Hall, "Now have some breakfast!"


	5. Hastings

_Hey there, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic :)_

_First of all I want to apologise for the delay on getting this chapter up. My Beta has been soooo busy and unable to edit my work (not that I'm complaining Lauren – I LOVE YOU! 3), so that means that I had to edit my own work. And so, I apologise for that too, I find that I haven't got a very critical eye and am not very good at editing._

_Now, I want to thank you for even reading this fic! It means a lot to me, and please review to let me now what you think. If you thought it was good or bad, any review is helpful to me :D_

_Once again, thank you! And enjoy this chapter xx_

* * *

><p>Lily had been sitting in the Gryffindor common room, given the choice, she would have preferred to have been finishing her homework in the library. Unfortunately, Hogwarts rules say that all students must be in their dormitories by 10pm. Considering it was well past 10, Lily was stuck with the noisey house common room to finish writing her Transfiguration essay.<p>

James had come up behind her quietly and sat on the chair next to her. "Do you want to go on a date with me, this Saturday?" He asked Lily hopefully.

Lily was disappointed because she couldn't go. If only she hadn't agreed to that stupid tutoring thing with McGonagall. "I can't, I'm teaching Transfiguration to the new kid, sorry."

"Oh." James had been really hoping for her to say yes. "I could help you?" _Anything to be with you! Even if that means more work._

"But then I'd end up teaching you as well." Lily joked.

James laughed, "Hey! I could use the practise." He joked along with her.

"I guess another pair of hands could be helpful." She hoped Professor McGonagall wouldn't mind. Lily would have to go and talk to her just to check that it was ok. But knowing her teacher, it should be fine.

"Cool, see you there." James walked off smiling. Even though it wasn't the intended date he had hoped for, it was better than not being with Lily.

* * *

><p>"But I already told him he could help." Lily complained to her Transfiguration teacher.<p>

"Then tell him I said no, Lily." Professor McGonagall didn't have time for this. She had essays to mark, classes to teach, students to punish and not enough hours in the day. "You are a prefect, I trust you to look after this job responsibly."

"Of course I will, Professor. But–"

"His name is Samuel Hastings," She said reading off a sheet of parchment. "He is new this year, and is in Slytherin house. His Transfiguration skills are seriously lacking, that is where you come in."

Lily took the parchment that the teacher was holding out to her. She scanned the list and saw basic spells that she had learnt years earlier. _Where had this Samuel learnt how to use magic?_ She thought. _Clearly his education hadn't been very good._

"Just work through the spells on that sheet, try and meet at least once every week. The sooner he can catch up the better. I assume that is alright?"

"Yes, Professor." She nodded.

"Good. Then it's settled. I expect you to be there at 2.30 sharp. You will continue until 4.30 and then you may leave." McGonagall said before looking down at the sheet of parchment in front of her and putting a big 'F' at the top.

Lily hastily walked out of the room. _How was she going to tell James he couldn't come? _She thought. _He was going to be upset._

* * *

><p><em>How was he supposed to tell Lily that she would be helping the new kid alone? He had actually wanted to help. <em>But now Riker was calling a Quidditch practise. All of Gryffindor team must be in attendance. No exceptions.

James saw Lily walking toward him. _It's now or never. Just got to come out and say it._

"Lily!" He called to get her attention.

Lily looked up at the sound of her name and saw James. She smiled a little, but it quickly turned to a frown. "Hey." She stopped in front of him, wringing her hands.

"Hey. Look, I'm really sorry. Riker says Quidditch practise Saturday, if you miss it you're off the team. So I have to go. I really am sorry. I wanted to help." James looked guilty, his voice begged for her forgiveness.

She looked relieved, "No! that's good. I just came from Professor McGonagall's office. She said you couldn't come anyway. How about we go to Hogsmeade another time? Like next Saturday? I really want to try the new Honeydew drink at the Three Broomsticks. Apparently it's delicious."

"Sounds great." James said. He was looking forward to next Saturday now.

* * *

><p>Tami had looked down every aisle, but she still couldn't find the book that was going to help her with her Muggle Studies paper.<p>

She stomped back to the table which had Elle and Lily studiously working on their own assignments. Tami heaved a loud sigh as she sat down. When her two friends continued working she sighed again.

"Yes?" Lily asked, without looking up from her work.

"Lily!" Tami whined. "Please, please, _please _can you just tell me the information? It's not like it's hard! You lived like a muggle before you knew about Witches and Wizards."

Lily finally glanced up from her work. "No, Tami. I'm not giving you the answers anymore. I told you where to look already."

"And I tried to find it. I really did. But the book isn't there!" When Lily didn't respond, Tami continued. "Lily! I don't know what to write!"

Exasperated, Lily threw down her quill, and stood up. Tami bounced up as well and followed her.

"Excuse me!" Lily called to the Librarian.

"Oh hello, Lily, dear! How can I help you?" Asked the elderly Lady.

"We were looking for _Muggles Throughout the Ages_, do you have any idea where it might be?"

"Of course dear! If I'm not mistaken, a Mr. Riker Lynk issued it just a few hours earlier. Anything else I can help you two with?"

"No, that's all. Thank you." Lily smiled to the Librarian as she walked off back towards Elle. Tami followed behind her.

"What am I going to do now!"

This is why Lily didn't like Tami coming to study with them. She talked too much. "I don't know."

"So I'm screwed?"

Lily really just wanted to finish the essay she was writing for Astronomy. "Yes."

"Lily!"

"What? What do you want me to say? Tami, this isn't my problem. It's your own fault for leaving this essay to the last possible moment." Lily picked up her sheets of parchment and briskly walked away from the Library.

Tami watched Lily leave the room. "Jeesh! What's her problem? Guess it's just you and me then."

"No way are you dragging me into the middle of this." Elle said looking up from her parchments.

"What kind of friends are you? Abandoning me in my time of need?"

"It's hardly your 'time of need', Tami. Stop being so melodramatic. And I'm not abandoning you. I think, that if you want to make it up with Lily, you need to finish your paper by yourself. Prove that you can do it. And not only that, but prove that you can do it well."

Tami thought about what Elle was saying. "Ok... And off I go to find that blasted book."

* * *

><p>"Riker?" Tami asked. When the blond haired boy turned around she assumed she had the right person and continued. "Finally! I have searched everywhere for you. I <em>really<em> need that Muggle book for this essay I'm writing..."

He smiled up at her and pointed to a big stack of books infront of him, "Which one?"

She looked at them all dumbfounded. "The one about Muggles?"

"Do you know the title?" He asked, flicking his fringe out of his eyes.

"No. My friend does but she's kind of not talking to me at the moment so I'm on my own and I'm stuck."

"Well I guess I can help you out." He said, gesturing to the seat next to him. "I _did _do that paper last year, so how difficult can it be?"

"Thank you!" Tami took the seat he offered her.

Riker laughed and started moving his pieces of parchment to the side. He pulled Tami's parchment to him. After one look at it he started chuckling.

"What?" Tami asked.

"It has two words on it!" He managed to chortle out. "Your name; Tami Prisa."

"I told you I was stuck!" She said defending herself.

"Ok, ok. When's it due?"

"Tomorrow..." She said in a small voice, smiling at him.

Riker's eyes widened. "We do have a lot of work to do then." He said kindly.

The two of them worked on her paper for the rest of the afternoon. Finally as students began to leave they decided to have a break. Tami was very nearly finished. And after a stress-free afternoon she was feeling much better. _Who knew homework could actually be fun?_ Tami never knew such a thought could even cross her mind, but sitting there with Riker and sharing jokes had actually been fun.

* * *

><p>Lily didn't show up at dinner time so Tami sat with Elle. Unfortuantly Riker had to sit with the other Gryffindor prefects, but promised Tami that after dinner they would continue her paper.<p>

"Where have you been all day? Doing your essay?" Elle asked, acting all motherly again.

"Of course!" Tami said as if it wasn't obvious. "Riker has been helping me with my Muggle paper out of the kindness of his heart."

Elle looked confused. "I thought you were going to do it by yourself?"

"Well yeah. I was. But then Riker had all the books out and so he said he would help me, because that way it was easier."

"Easier how?" Elle asked.

"Just easier! Don't be jealous, just because Riker is spending time with me." Tami said, serving herself some salad from the middle of the table.

"I'm not. I'm just confused. You promised me you would do this paper all by yourself and now you've gone and broken that promise." Elle looked at Tami disappointed.

"I'm sorry! It's not my fault Riker offered to help. I couldn't, exactly, turn him down." Tami said.

"Yes you could have! You don't have to flirt with every guy you meet."

"I don't flirt with every guy I meet!" Tami responded, shocked.

Elle just shook her head."He has a girlfriend, Tami. Be careful where you tread."

"Everyone knows they've already broken up." Tami stated. She was sick of Elle and Lily always telling her what to do. _They don't always know what's best for me_, she thought.

"She's still going around telling everyone they're together."

Tami pushed her uneaten plate of food away from her. She stood up from the table and walked away, leaving Elle alone.

* * *

><p>"Tami! Wait up!" Someone yelled from behind her. She did as she was told and waited for them to catch up. "Why did you leave dinner so early? We only just got there – surely you havn't finished eating already?" Asked Riker. The way he flicked his hair out of his eyes as he talked made Tami's legs wobble... Or maybe it was the fact that she was hungry that made her legs wobble.<p>

"I wasn't hungry..." She murmered then turned and started walking away from Riker.

He frowned "Is everything ok? I thought we were going to finish your Muggle Studies paper together after dinner?"

Tami sighed and gave a small smile. "Thanks for alll your help. It's been great, honestly. But I think it's best if I just finish it."

Riker was even more confused then ever now. "Ok, well, good luck then." He started back to the Hall to finish his dinner, leaving Tami out in the corridor.

_When did life become so difficult? _She thought. _Having to chose between a guy you really like, or an angry best friend? _It isn't exactly a tough choice, but Tami know who she would prefer to be spending this evening with.She walked up the countless staircases towards Gryffindor house where she hoped to find Lily.

* * *

><p>"Lily?" Tami asked cautiously as she poked her head around the door to their dormitory. At her name Lily looked up to see Tami. She wasn't mad at her anymore and was dreading the apology she would now owe her for being so irrational earlier. "Can I come in?"<p>

"Of course. It's your room too." Lily said. Sitting up on her bed, crossing her legs under her.

Tami walked over to the bed and sat on the end of it, opposite Lily. "I'm sorry!" She blurted out.

"No, you have nothing to apologise for! I'm sorry I got annoyed in the library, I was just having a bad day. How is your essay going?" Lily added.

"I have nearly finished!" Tami said with a flourish.

Lily looked happy, glad that her earlier outburst hadn't hindered her friends education. "Want me to help you with the end?"

"You know, I think I'd like to finish it myself this time."

"Ok, I'll be here if you need me though." Lily smiled at Tami, who was getting up off Lilys' bed.

She searched through a deep pocket in her robes while Lily looked on curiously. "Aha!" She exclaimed. And pulled out a small square wrapped in a napkin. "Thought you might be hungry." She said, tearing the bread, and offering half of it to Lily.

Lily accepted it graciously. "Thank you! I didn't feel like coming down for dinner."

"Figured." Tami said, walking over to the door still munching on her bread. She left the room to complete her essay.

* * *

><p><em>He's late!<em> Lily thought, as she paced from wall to wall of the empty Transfiguration classroom, getting more frustrated with every length.

The door opened and Samuel stauntered through. Lily automatically disliked him. His head was held high and his shoulders back, like he owned the place. She raised her eyebrows in disbelief, no new kid should have this amount of confidence.

His black t-shirt clung to the muscles on his arms, while his dark jeans hung low on his hips. One hand casually tucked in his front pocket, while the other swung low by his side. While he walked into the room he flicked his brown hair to the side, to keep it out of his eyes.

"Your late." Lily said unimpressed.

"Sorry." He flashed her a grin, not seeming sorry at all.

She rolled her eyes. "Samuel Hastings?"

"Call me Sam." He smirked. He had made his way into the middle of the room and was now standing infront of Lily.

"Sam it is then." She looked up into his face and realised how close he was. "Um... Lets get started, shall we?" Lily stepped back, uncomfortable with the closeness.

"What first, Teach?"

"Ok," Lily laughed at the name. "First of all, you can call me Lily. And, well, I have a list of spells to teach you... But what do you already know?"

"Nothing." He said bluntly.

She looked confused. For a wizard at school to know no transfiguration spells was unheard of. Especially one who was 16 years old, with only a year of school left. "Nothing?" She repeated to be sure.

Sam shook his head. "My father doesn't believe in transfiguration; says it's pointless magic."

"Ok, but, you're at school now, and transfiguration is something you have to learn. Let's start with Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration." Lily said sitting down at a table and motioning for Sam to sit opposite her. "Want to take notes?" She asked, and slid some sheets of parchment, a quill and ink across to him.

"Sure." He said nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.

Lily supressed a sigh. His unenthusiastic approach to transfiguration meant this was going to be very hard for Lily to teach him, but she soldiered on. "There are five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law. The first is food. Food can't be created from nothing, you can summon or transform, but not create." She paused and waited for Sam to start writing, but he didn't. "Look, we have 2 hours today, and I'm supposed to teach you 5 years worth of transfiguration until you get it, while still keeping up with my own school work. So the sooner you start paying attention the sooner you can catch up, and the sooner we can finish these little meetings."

"You want to finish these dates with me sooner rather than later?" He asked, grinning.

"Stop taking everything like it's a joke. I'm being serious, Sam. There is no point in wasting my time if you don't want to learn anything. Plus, this is _not_ a date, this is tutoring." She said, her voice sharp.

He picked up the quill and started writing what she had said on the parchment. "Sorry." He said, looking deep into her sincere green eyes.

Lilys heart began to race, looking into his eyes. There was something unsetteling about him; the way he annoyed her, yet made her feel this way. _But no. This is wrong. I'm going out with James. I like James._ She thought as she looked away, glancing down at the table, her eyelashes cast long shadows down her flushed checks.

"It's ok." She mumbled, still looking away from Sam. "Uh, where was I?" She asked flustered.

"One musn't create food." Sam finally drew his gaze away from her blushing face and looked down at the parchment in front of him.

Once she had her train of thought back, Lily continued her teaching. "It's not that you _musn't_ create food, it's that you _can't_..."

Sam continued to write down exactly what she was saying but he let his mind wander, exercising his multi-tasking skills.

* * *

><p>"It's been three hours, can't we stop already?" Sam whined. As he threw his wand down on the table, glaring accusingly at the black button that had sprouted six stick legs.<p>

Lily sighed. She had been watching over him, trying to give him small pointers on how to complete the spells successfully. "It's been three hours, and you haven't even managed to transfigure a button into a beetle." She said unimpressed.

"It has legs." He pointed out.

She put her head in her hands resignedly. The three hours had felt long, yet short at the same time. Long because she must have repeated herself a hundred times, but short because time passed quickly when Sam was making his sly innuendos and jokes. "Ok, I guess we can just try again next time."

"Great!" Sam leapt up from the chair eager to get away.

"Hold on!" She said, before he could leave.

He paused facing away from her, clearly waiting for her to speak first before he reacted.

"Can I ask about your past? Like why your old school never taught you Transfiguration? And, for that matter, what was your old school – I thought Hogwarts was the only Wizarding school in England?" She sent questions flying at him.

He turned around slowly, the look on his face indesipherable. "I was home schooled. My father taught me everything I know. He's a great wizard." He sounded almost mechanical, like he was reciting a speech that had been written and handed to him.

"So why did you suddenly come to school now then?" She pried.

He shrugged, suggesting that he had no voice in the matter, simply that his father chose for him. "Same time, same place, for the next lesson?" He changed the subject.

"Yes." She replied automatically, then remembered her date with James. "Oh, wait, no. It's Hogsmeade weekend next Saturday. I'm sure you'll want to go to that."

He shrugged, "I'm not bothered. It's just a small village."

Lily wasn't expecting that. She was hoping he wanted to go to Hogsmeade, in which case she wouldn't have to feel bad about having to reschedule. "So, when I said you would want to go, what I meant was; I have other plans. How about we carry on, say, Sunday?" She smiled.

"So soon? Can't get enough of me, can you?" He joked to conceal his jealousy of being pushed to the side.

She looked confused for a moment. "Oh, no! Not tomorrow. I meant next Sunday! Is that ok?"

"Yup." He turned to the door and left. No thank you. No bye. He just left Lily standing in there, thankful he was gone.

_Overlooking his snide remarks and general rudeness he had been kind of alright._ Lily thought as she cleared up the classroom. _And I only have to do this for... a few more weeks..._ She sighed to herself. _They're going to be a long couple of weeks._


	6. Weekends

_Hi there, I'm C.R. Richardson your author for this fic._

_Thanks to those who put this story on alert or reviewed you guys are all amazing, I love you so much! :D_

_I'm working on the 7th chapter right now, but I also started another fanfic so it might take me a little while to get these out, I have a long weekend this weekend so that's why I've been able to get two out this weekend._

_If anybody has any questions or comments, feel free to review or check out my tumblr __._

_Um ok so this is a long chapter, well for me at least... and sorry this hasn't been edited, my Beta is really busy, and I love her so I don't want to keep giving her more stuff to do, it makes me feel bad too see her too busy._

_Read and review please,_

_Thanks everyone xx_

_(**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter characters unfortunatly)_

* * *

><p>"Urgh!" Lily sighed, they had been talking about her and James for awhile now. "I'm over my love life, if you can even call it that, I want to talk about somebody elses. Tami?" She asked her friend.<p>

"Na-ah! Don't even ask. Not unless you are prepared for the major rant that will come, about how us, woman are better off without men." Lily didn't even want to know what had happened with her and Riker, though she was pretty sure Tami would tell her sooner or later.

"Elle?" She tried with her other friend.

"Boring. Non-existant. Pointless. All of the above." Elle said dejectedly.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, curious.

Elle shook her head. "Nothing. Its just... Well he doesn't even know I exist."

"Who's this mystery boy?" Tami was interested now too. And she joined in the interrogation.

Elle was wishing she hadn't even brought it up. "No one. Just forget about it."

"You're dreaming if you think we're giving up that easily!" Tami said.

Her two friends didn't stop pestering her throughout dinner. It was getting annoying, and Elle was starting to give in. _I should just tell them! They won't stop bothering me until I tell them. And it doesn't even matter because it's not like he even likes me. Why should it matter? I sould tell them. I'm going to tell them._

"Ok! I'll tell you later! Upstairs." She promised to get the two of them to be quiet.

Pleased with this answer, they let her finish her dinner in peace. They ate as quickly as possible, and then had to wait while Elle took an extremely long time to finish her food.

* * *

><p>As soon as the door of their dormitory closed, Tami and Lily rounded on Elle expectantly. "Well...? Who do you like?"<p>

Elle kept them in suspense as she walked over to the bed and sat down, hugging a pillow to her. "Remus."

She said quickly, before burrying her head into the pillow.

"Remus!" The two girls gasped. They turned to each other grinning.

"They are going to be such a cute couple!"

"Ohhh, I can't wait for them to go out!"

"They're so adorable!"

Tami and Lily talked to each other in fast succession. Elle raised her head from the pillow and tried to follow what the they were saying.

"Woah! Calm down. He doesn't even like me!" Elle tried to be reasonable.

But it was too late. There was no reasoning with them. "Elle, he is head over heels for you. Anyone can see that!" Tami said.

"No he isn't." She didn't want to get her hopes up.

* * *

><p>The two of them were on prefect duty together. 'Prefect duty' was a fancy title which meant that the two Head Prefects' of Gryffindor didn't want to keep an eye on all the third years going to Hogsmeade, and so pawned off the duty to two other Gryffindor Prefects. As it turned out, the two who got this job were Remus and Lily.<p>

After telling the younger kids to met them at four so they could go back to Hogwarts together, Lily had to try. "So... have you got a girlfriend?" She asked none to subtly.

Remus was surprised to be asked. Especially by Lily. "No..." He said.

"That's fantastic!" Lily seemed excited.

Remus was still confused, "Um... I think your great, Lily, but..." There was a long pause, "I like someone else." He said in a rush.

"Wait what? Me? You thought... I... liked you?" Lily started laughing as she began to understand. Remus still looked completely clueless. "No, Silly! It's Elle who likes y-" Lily stoped immediately. She clasped a hand to her mouth, trying to push the words back down, when she realised what she had said.

"Elle?" Remus had heard.

"What?" Lily asked trying to confuse Remus.

It wasn't working. Remus had heard what she had said. "You said it was Elle who liked...? And then you stopped." He waited for Lily to respond.

"Yes, it's Elle who likes... owls. She likes Owls, yes, that's it." Lily was an awful liar, especially when put on the spot.

"Owls? Elle likes owls?" Remus asked, not convinced.

Lily just nodded, praying Remus would just accept her explanation. She was worried that if she opened her mouth the truth would come out.

"Ok." Remus went along with Lily's lie because it seemed easier than getting the truth out of her.

The two of them continued down the small path, following after the last of the Gryffindor third years going to Hogsmeade. The silence between the two of them was defeaning. Lily desperatly wanted to find out who Remus liked. She was so sure it was Elle. But what if it wasn't? Elle hadn't wanted Lily or Tami to get involved, she was worried they would just ruin things.

"Ok, there is no need to force it out of me!" Lily burst out, exasperated. "Elle likes you. She likes you. But she doesn't think you like her and she's too shy to tell you herself. So that's why I'm telling you. Please don't tell Elle that I told you!"

Remus smiled to himself, "I won't." He paused, "I like her too."

Lilys face lit up with a bright smile. "You do? Oh my gosh! I knew it! This is great!" She gushed.

"Yeah, yeah. You think I should ask her out?" He asked, scuffing his feet with a goofy grin on his face.

"YES!" Lily practically screamed at him. He winced away from her loud voice in his ear. "If you don't ask her, I will... curse you!" She threatened badly.

He laughed at her. "Oh no! I don't want to be cursed!" He joked. "Better get on with asking."

Lily nodded, "You had better."

After a few moments of silence, Remus changed the subject. "So are you and James meeting up today?"

"Yeah." Lily smiled and blushed. "We're meeting at Honeydukes and then hanging out until four, I guess." She told Remus.

"Sounds like fun." Remus said, happy for them.

The two Prefects neared the small village on the outskirts of their school. All of their peers had gone on ahead of them, continued by the third years of the houses in succession, with Gryffindor following at the rear. Leaving Lily and Remus the very last to arrive.

She was meant to meet James 15 minutes earlier but had, unfortunatly, been held up doing Prefect duties. So she raced away from Remus, as they neared Hogsmeade, and made her way to Honeydukes. Once she got inside the sickly sweet smell of candy swirled around the shop, she had to find James. This was easier said then done, a single person was almost impossible to spot among the jostling crowd.

She stood on the tips of her toes to peer over students heads, but she still couldn't find James' tell-tale untidy hair. Giving up hope, she left the shop for fresh air before she began searching again, when she bumped into something. No, not something, nothing. She had bumped into nothing. But that was impossible?

"Watch it." Whispered a familiar voice in her ear.

She spun around, expecting James to be there. She frowned in confusion when he wasn't. _I didn't imagine that, did I? _She thought._ Someone really did speak to me, I'm sure of it._

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Came the floating voice again.

_Of course! It was James! He had to be wearing that silly cloak of his again_. "James? Very funny. Jokes over. You can take it off now." Lily looked like she was talking to herself. Most people didn't seem to notice, though there were a few, passing by, just close enough to hear her.

James tugged the cloak off and became visable to the world again. "Welcome back." Lily said sarcastically,

"It's good to be back, now that I know I'm not being stood up." He was annoyed that Lily had been late, but was willing to down play it so that it seemed like he didn't care.

"I know. I'm sorry! Prefect duty took longer then I expected, and then Gryffindor was last, and no one was co-operating..." Lily apologised with a long list of excuses.

James stopped her, "It's ok. So you were late. I'm a big kid, I can deal with it. Besides I bought you a present in the spare time I had, so it was lucky really..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a giant lollipop.

Lily smiled up at him taking the lollipop that changed colour at random. "Thanks." _Why is he always bullying people when he can be such a sweetheart?_

"Want to go for a walk?"

Lily nodded and followed after James as he made his way down the street.

* * *

><p>Huddled under a tree, the three teenagers were sat whispering, with their heads tucked together. Clearly they didn't want to be overheard or noticed, but they had immediately drawn Sam's attention. He recognised them from his own house, Slytherin, but had never bothered with them. Master of invisibilty, Sam ducked behind a tree a couple of meters away to eavesdrop on their conversation.<p>

"...Mulciber, don't do it. You'll get caught." The one that looked younger said in a distressed tone.

"It's my last year in this hell hole, Snape. It's not like I care what the senial headmaster thinks. Besides he won't find out. She won't tell." The elder boy spoke with confidence, convincing his companions.

The one with short straggly hair nodded along. His upturned nose took up too much of his face to make him attractive. "It's just imperius, Snape. It isn't _that_ bad."

_Imperius? One of the unforgivable curses. What would one of them want to do with a spell like that?_ Thought Sam, as he watched the three of them without them even realising that he was there.

"Avery is right. If you don't want to come. Fine. But it's only MacDonald, and you can't say she doesn't have it coming. Just look at who her parents are. Filthy mudblood. Disgusting fraud!" Mulciber spoke with such venom in his voice.

He had heard enough. He pushed off from the tree he had been leaning against and walked over to his fellow Slytherin students. "You know," The three boys quickly whipped their heads around at his voice. "If you want to pack a real punch, you should try the crutiatus curse."

* * *

><p>They ended up at the lookout of the Shrieking Shack. Lily was surprised because she had been too busy talking to know where she was going, but James had been intending on taking her here.<p>

"The Shrieking Shack, how romantic." Lily joked.

James just rolled his eyes. "Want to have a closer look?"

"But we can't. You're not supposed to go passed this point." They were already at the fenced off lookout that was ten meters away and they could hear the moaning and creaking of the old building. The bits of hanging timber looked like they could fall at any moment. It swayed precariously in the slight breeze, it didn't look safe.

He smiled at her insistence on the rules. "You aren't scared, are you?"

Lily laughed shakily. "Not at all." She lied.

"You don't have to worry. I won't let anything happen to you." James reassured her.

She tried to think of more excuses. "We won't have enough time. Remus and I are helping the third years and-"

"Remus can look after them." He interrupted.

"But everyone has to be back at Hogwarts by five, there won't be time to get there and back."

"I know a short cut." James smirked.

Against her better judgment Lily gave in. She couldn't think of anymore excuses as to why they _couldn't_ go. She could think of plenty for why they _shouldn't_ – but James would just shoot down those ideas.

As he started forward towards the fence, Lily grabbed hold of his arm. "Wait!" She glanced around at all the other students, "They can see us. Someone will surely tell."

"You're right." He walked over to the dense forest at the side, Lily followed after him. When they were both surrounded by trees, that would hide them from the others, he pulled out his invisibility cloak.

* * *

><p>They walked up to the door, the noise only getting louder. Lily's heart raced, but she refused to admit to James that she was scared.<p>

He pulled open the door grinning. He was thinking about how the students standing at the lookout would react, seeing a door of a haunted house seemingly opening by itself. He was sure that story would be heard across Hogwarts in no time.

As soon as the door closed behind them, James pulled off the cloak. He watched as Lily looked around the room taking in her surroundings. James was used to the Shrieking Shack, he had come here so often with his friends that it bored him a little now. The look on Lilys face was a lot more interesting, to him, then the house was.

Lily gasped as her eyes searched the room. The creaking noise was awfully loud now. Even though the day wasn't particularly warm, it wasn't particularly cold either. But the house was, when Lily and James breathed out they could see their breath in white smoke. The house was just the same on the inside as it was on the outside; broken wood dangling by old nails, wallpaper torn and falling off the walls, bits of old furniture lay with a dust coating. But some of the dust had been freshly moved, she could see fresh footprints leading up to a staircase with missing steps.

Lily pointed the footprints out to James. "Someone has been here recently." She whispered incase that someone was still here.

James was unconcerned by them, and shrugged it off. "I'm sure we're fine."

For her own peace of mind, Lily pulled out her wand, pointed it at the ceiling and whispered, "Homenum revelio."

She was expecting nothing to happen, or rather hoping nothing would happen. But a burst of two white lights appeared above their heads.

"What does that mean?" James asked as he watched the remaining sparks disapear.

"That means there are two people upstairs." She looked at James scared. _This spell was for humans only. It couldn't pick up ghosts. So who was upstairs? No one was meant to be in here. _Her thoughts were running wild as her heart jumped around inside her chest. She was sure James could hear the loud beatings.

"I'm sure it's fine. Whoever it is, is probably just another student who came up here as a dare." He said, reasuring her.

* * *

><p>Remus had looked everywhere for her. He had tried Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks, Gladrags Wizardwear and even Zonko's Joke Shop (though he had already assumed Elle wasn't there) but she was nowhere to be found. Hogsmeade was such a small place he wondered how he had managed to loose her. After walking back from the Shrieking Shack lookout which had been his last bet, he passed in front of the Hog's Head pub.<p>

Through the grimey window he was certain he had glimpsed Elle and so he made his way to the door. The bells tinkered above him as he walked in. Elle continued reading her book, not even noticing someone had walked in.

"I never thought the Hog's Head was your scene." He said standing over her.

Elle looked up from her book with an embarrassed smile. "Quiet." She shrugged as she lifted her book, gesturing to what she was reading.

"Oh." He signaled to get the bartenders attention. "Two butterbeers, please."

Remus sat down opposite Elle. "Hog's Head doesn't really seem like your kind of scene either." She stated, putting her book down to one side.

"It's not. But I saw you here, and thought you could use the company." He said. Remus accepted the Butterbeers that the bartender held out to him with a 'thanks'. He glanced at the cover of Elle's book. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard! My parents used to read them to me. Enjoying them?"

"Yeah, they're great. I finished translating them the other day, so I'm going back and reading them in English." Lily said enthusiastically, placing her hands around the glass in front of her and feeling the warmth of the butterbeer through the glass.

Remus took a long gulp of his drink, trying to prolong the time before he would have to ask. He tried to find the courage to speak up and tell her those 3 little words; I like you.

* * *

><p>Lily crept up the stairs making sure she kept behind James and gripped her wand tightly. James had his wand in his hand too, which made her feel a little safer.<p>

As they were walking quietly up the stairs, the sudden sound of the front door slamming in the wind caused Lily to yelp and grab hold of James' hand tightly. He smiled and squeezed her hand back. "It's ok." He whispered to Lily. But there was no point, her scream had probably already alerted the people upstairs.

When they neared the door to a room upstairs, James paused, Lily was still cutting the circulation off to his hand. He heard the sounds of two people talking quietly between themselves, they didn't seem worried that there were other people in the house, but they had to have known, Lily wasn't exactly quiet about it. James moved towards the wall and looked through a crack between planks of wood, when he realised who it was he sighed and put away his wand. Lily was too busy looking behind her to notice James's sudden lack of worry.

He pushed open the door. "Should have known you couldn't resist."

The two boys looked up and smiled. "Sorry Prongs, what gave us away?" Sirius asked, as he casually leaned back on his seat.

"Lily noticed the footprints in the dust." James said. Lily was to shocked to say anything. She just looked back and forth between James and his two friends like she was watching a tennis game.

"Dammit, Wormtail! That was your job!"

"S-sorry!" Pettigrew looked upset that he had forgotten.

"What were you two love birds up to anyway?" Sirius said grinning as he saw their hands still clasped together. James had thought about letting go before he opened the door, but then that would mean not holding her hand anymore, and he couldn't bear for that to happen.

"Nothing, and then we heard you."

"Right, sorry!" Sirius said, not sorry at all.

"Where's Remus? I thought he would have been up here with you two..."

"No idea. Told him we were coming up, but he never showed." Sirius shrugged. Lily knew where he hopefully was, and that was finding Elle and asking her out.

"What are you two doing here?" Lily spoke up.

"Spying on us." James answered for them.

Lily nodded, pretending she understood why they were here. _Sure, they were here to spy on us. But how did they know we were coming? And why would they want to spy on us? _She thought.

"Ok. You two can leave now." James said with a warning look, before throwing his invisibilty cloak at the two of them.

Sirius grabbed it out of the air. As he walked past Lily he waggled his eyebrows causing Lily to blush.

Both Sirius and Peter headed out the door and down the stairs. James and Lily watched their vanishing figures just to make sure they had left and were really alone this time.

James turned to Lily. "Sorry about that. They're a right nuisance sometimes."

"That's ok." Lily said forgiving him. "How come they knew we would come here?"

James shrugged, "I just wanted to show you something different. And, I don't know, I assume you've never been here before?"

"You're right, I haven't."

"Well there you go..." James said taking the seat which Sirius had just occupied.

Lily looked around still standing. "It's not exactly romantic is it?"

James tapped the seat next to him, asking Lily to sit down. As she moved towards the seat, he pulled out his wand and grabbed some sheets of newspaper, that had been left lying around, from beside him. He balled them up and placed it on the ground in front of them. Pointing his wand at it, he murmed a spell under his breath causing them to burst into flames. He raised his wand and the burning newspaper rose too, until it was floating in midair. The heat from the newspaper was slowly warming up Lily who hadn't dressed warm enough to come to the shack and was feeling the cold, more so than James was, who was used to the drafty place.

The two of them sat for a while watching the mesmorising flames. "I really like you, Lily." James spoke softly.

Lily smiled and looked at him. "I like you too."

He smiled back at her, then resumed watching the fire. "If you like me, how come it took you so long to agree to go out with me?"

Lily bit her lip, while she thought of a nice way to word her answer. But she couldn't think of a nice way, other than to be blunt. "Well... you were... sort of... a bully."

"You mean this stupid thing with Snivellus?" James asked.

"Yes. And sometimes other people too..." _I shouldn't have told him. I just ruined the moment. _She thought. _But he asked, and I wanted to be honest._

"Snivellus deserved what what was coming. He called you a mudblood, Lily. You can't honestly defend the creep!" The newspaper automatically burnt out as it disentegrated, falling to the floor, forgotten about by both Lily and James.

"I can do what I want to! And there you go bullying him some more! Only this time, he's not here to defend himself."

Lily was getting angrier with him, and he was getting angrier with her. But this wasn't what he wanted, not for their first real date. "Ok. I'm sorry." No matter how much he didn't want to say that, he felt he had to. "I won't bully... him again."

"Thank you." Lily said, evidently pleased with his apology. "But, it's not just Sev, it's everyone else too. Do you promise not to bully _anyone_?"

"I promise." He said unwillingly.

"I'll hold you to that, James."

He was just glad that Lily wasn't angry anymore. Even though it meant he now had to stop bullying everyone, which was going to be hard. Not because he liked bullying people – he didn't. And he didn't even do it on purpose. Usually it was Sirius egging him on. He thought they were just practicle jokes.

* * *

><p>He waited until Elle had a mouthful of Butterbeer before telling her. "I like you." He finally managed to rush out. His shoulders sagged a little, relieved he had finally gotten it out, but the worrying was not over yet. Elle still had to answer.<p>

She swallowed her drink and put the glass down. "What? Sorry, I was thinking about something else..." She smiled apologitically looking a little embarrased.

Remus wasn't put off though. "I like you, Elle." He said in measured patience.

Elle had heard him this time. She choked on a cough, "What?"

"I like you?" He said it like a question, he didnt know why she couldn't understand him.

Elle's eyes were alight with excitement, "I like you too!" She tried to restrain her voice. Her heart was pounding in her chest, it felt like it was trying to escape. All she wanted to do was squeal, she couldn't believe this was really happening.

* * *

><p>After James had promised Lily he wasn't going to bully people anymore, the tension had gone. And the two of them happily went back to casually talking. "It's nearly five! How're we supposed to get back to school on time?" Lily said glancing at James' watch.<p>

"Relax. I told you I knew a short cut." James said standing up, and pulling Lily after him.

"But you gave away your cloak. How are we supposed to get out without anyone seeing?" Lily asked nervously.

"You don't need to worry about that." He pulled her down the stairs, still holding onto her hand.

When they got downstairs, Lily automatically started walking to the front door that they had come through. But she was yanked back, until her face was close to James'. Close enough to kiss. "Not that way." He murmered, looking down at her, grinning before pulling back.

Lily couldn't help smiling. "Which way then?"

Instead of saying anything he just pulled her towards the back of the house. Towards a small hole in a wall. Lily looked at him questioningly but she didn't want to say anything.

He let go of her hand and was just about to climb into the hole, that was only just big enough, though they would still have to duck to walk through it. Lily had to say something "Through there? You want me to go through there?" She looked down the small tunnel, the light only shone a few meters in. In that few meters all she could see was dirt and tree roots along the side. Clearly the tunnel went underground, but where did it come out?

"Yes." James said. "If you want to go the long way you can. But this is the short cut, it comes out straight into Hogwarts." He paused and looked at Lily's uncertain face. "I'll go first if you want?"

Lily nodded, and took out her wand murmuring "lumos" so that it would light her way. James climbed through the hole and had to crouch down, hunching his back. Then helped Lily through, she had to duck her head to, but occasionally she would come to a point where she could straighten up.

* * *

><p>The two of them didn't talk for the journey, they concentrated on keeping their footing and trying not to fall. Lily got the suspicion that James had come through this tunnel many times before. She saw James's wand light go out, but she found that she didn't actually need its light. The tunnel was coming to an end, and the light was starting to shine through.<p>

"Wait here." James told her. He climbed up and out of the tunnel opening. Lily did as she was told, standing just inside the tunnel, within seconds James leaned down into the tunnel and offered his hand. Lily accepted and let him help her up the last small hill, which was slippy with mud.

Stepping into the fresh air, she looked around brushing some of the mud off her clothes. She was standing underneath the womping willow. The sight was disconcerting, this tree had been known to thrash around if anyone came into its vicinity. After it put one student in St. Mungo's Hospital, everyone gives it a wide berth.

"Am I safe standing here?" She asked James, without taking her eyes off the tree.

He chuckled at her. "Yes. I immobilised it."

"Oh ok." She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.

"We should probably get back to the school, so Filch can mark us present." James took the lead and Lily fell into step beside him, walking up the hill towards the school.

* * *

><p>Filch watched as a student stauntered up the long, wide pathway that led to Hogwarts. He stood on the school side of the gate clutching multiple pieces of parchment on them, he resented doing this job. Because he had no magical abilities, he couldn't wave a wand and the names would cross themselves off automatically, instead he had to check every student off the list one at a time as they passed him. Reaching into his tatty old jacket, he pulled out a small pocket watch. The dented gold casing caught the fading sunlight, he clicked the button at the top, the front opened slowly; rusted with age. Just as he suspected, it was already past five.<p>

"Students have no respect anymore." Filch muttered under his breath.

Sam walked up to him and flashed a smile. "Samuel Hastings." He said, leaning forward to peek at the list, curious to see if Lily had made it back yet. He had waited in Hogsmeade for as long as he dared, hoping to catch her as she passed, but he hadn't seen her. Assuming she had gone back to school earlier that day, Sam left too.

Fich searched the list, and then glanced up as he sensed Sam getting closer. His frown deepened, and his forever furrowed eyebrows seemed to rise a little in surprise. He slowly turned the list away from Sam's prying eyes. "You're late." He snarled through rotting teeth.

The putrid smell made Sam take a step back. "Oh, I'm new." He said as an explanation.

"And...?" Filch said unimpressed.

"And... I got lost. I'm sorry, Sir. It won't happen again." Filch's face brightened at the use of the word 'sir'. It came as no shock to Filch what the students called him behind his back, but he could only punish them if he was there to hear it – and boy, did he enjoy those punishments.

"Sam, m'boy!" Came a voice from behind him. "Settling in well, I hope?" Slughorn seemed a little unstable on his feet, and his cheeks were flushed.

Sam flashed a smile, recognising the scent of Honey Brew. "Of course. How could I not, with a Head of House like you?"

Slughorn laughed boisterously at the compliment. "I hope Filch isn't bothering you, Samuel?"

Sam cringed inwardly at the use of his full name. "No. I just got lost, and was a bit late." He said innocently.

"Well, you can't be punished for that." Slughorn gave Sam a heavy pat on the back and started leading him up the pathway from the gates to the monstirous castle.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for buying me a drink today." Elle said shyly, looking up into Remus' face.<p>

The two Gryfindors had walked back to school early, looking after the third formers on the way. After sitting in the Hogs Head and talking to pass the hours. Elle found that the silence wasn't awkward and they could talk easily. A smile had never left either of their faces, too happy to care that they were grinning like crazy.

"No problem." Remus said, as they loitered outside of the Gryffindor common room. Neither wanted to step inside and force the end of the date.

Remus started playing with the hand he held, looking down at it. "...should probably see how Tami is." Elle mused quietly, not really wanting to leave.

"Same..." Remus said uncommitedly.

"You should see how Tami is?" Elle asked confused.

He looked up at her face now, looking just as confused. "What? Oh, no. I meant how Padfoot is..."

"What's wrong with Sirius?" Elle asked, thinking he would still be at Hogsmeade, most of the older students still were. _If it weren't for the third formers I would still be there; sitting with Remus..._ Elle thought.

"Girl troubles." He dismissed it with a shake of his head, showing what he really thought of the situation; petty and unimportant.

"... guess you have to go then..?" She said unwillingly.

He leaned in closer. Elles heart skipped a beat as she saw his face move towards hers. "Guess I have to." He whispered.

"Ahem!" Someone cleared their throat near them. The two of them jumped apart like they had just been electrocuted. "Not interrupting am I?"

"No!" Elle blushed as Remus said 'yes' at the same time.

Sirius just smirked at the two of them. "Right..." He said, pushing between his two friends and walking through the potrait hole on the wall.

Now that the moment had gone, Elle started to follow after him. She turned back towards Remus, "coming?" She asked him before stepping through the portrait hole.

"There you are! Finally!" Tami rushed up to Elle from her seat on a couch in the common room. She pulled Elle into a tight hug before grabbing the top of her arm and leading her to the stairs.

"Tami?" Elle asked wondering why she was being lead away. "Hold on." She said shaking out of her grasp and turning back towards the covered hole where Remus was standing.

Elle raced to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The common room was pretty empty; the other students still hadn't come back to school. She gave him a quick peck on the check then turned and walked back to a gaping Tami.

Tami was too stunned to talk until they were up in their dorm. Elle was surprised she hadn't burst yet. "How- When- You- Remus- WHAT?" Tami stuggled to spit out.

Elle just sighed and sat down on her bed. "Remus told me he liked me in Hogsmeade today." She started explaining to her blonde friend. "He was really sweet. And you already know how much I like him, so... I guess we're together now."


	7. First Kiss

_Hey there, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_I apologise for this chapter being a little short but I did right a little James/Lily fluff at the end! :D ...or I tried at least :P_

_I've been really busy at school lately but I still managed to find the time to write this story for you guys, you're what keeps me writing this. Reviewing is always helpful to me, to know what I am doing right or wrong. I don't pretend that I'm an excellent writer, which is why your reviews help me._

_Sorry about any spelling mistakes, I'm still doing my own editing!_

_Thank you for reading my fic, it means a lot!_

_Please do review :D_

_Enjoy,_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, wrting like J.K Rowling is just a distant dream of mine :P)_

* * *

><p>They had been practising for weeks. Four weeks to be exact. Four weeks of Lily trying to teach Sam things he should have learnt in six years. She knew that he was smart enough to do the work, but it was the motivation that was the problem.<p>

Lily sighed, "Come on, Sam! I know you can do this! Just try again!" She encouraged him.

He glanced up at Lily, who was sitting opposite him, and smiled, loosing his concentration on the apple that was in front of him. He had been practising for the past hour, to try and switch the apple at one end of the table with the pear on the other end.

With a flick of his wrist the two fruits started to shimmer. Lily gave a quiet gasp and sat forward in her chair expectantly. Sam smirked a little, obviously his Father hadn't taught him nothing, he had known all these spells for years; probably even before Lily had learnt them. He could complete them without even a second thought, but he didn't want Lily to know that.

His father had warned him. Warned him not to get close to anyone at Hogwarts. Not unless they would be a future Death Eater. That was all he was there for; scoping out possible new entrants. The Dark Lord needed followers; needed people he could trust, that would loyally serve him and Sam was in charge of finding those select few.

He questioned why he was sitting here, now, with Lily. He shouldn't; but he knew he shouldn't. He had managed to convince himself that she would be a great asset to Voldemort, that should could be of help because she was smart. But somewhere inside of him, he also didn't want her to get involved...

Lily leapt out of her seat suddenly, her smile was stretched across her face. Sam had forgotten what was even happening at the room, but her running around the side of the table and glomping him seemed to pull him out of his chaotic mind.

"You did it! Sam, you did it!" Lily was shouting at him. "Congratulations!" She added before pulling him into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around Lily looking over her red hair at the fruit he had succesfully switched.

* * *

><p>The door opened and Lily guilty jumped away from him. Sam had unintentionally managed to make friends with two boys in Slytherin. They were identical in everyway; looks, personality and even thoughts. Their dark brown hair spiked at odd angles and their faces wore matching mischevious grins.<p>

"Lily!" They swooped in for a group hug, each giving her a kiss on a cheek. This was normal behaviour for the two of them, everyone in the school had grown accustomed to it.

"We thought you two were working-"

"-And here we see you're canoodling." Casey said, finishing off Lee's sentence with ease.

She just rolled her eyes, used to the two of them; how they talked, how they acted. At first it had been somewhat novel and amusing but now she was used to it.

"Can I help you two?" Sam asked.

"The thing is-"

"-We're bored."

"And you're interresting."

"So... Here we are."

Sam was still not quite used to the twins behaviour. "You're interrupting my lesson because you're bored?"

They nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's ok, we're finished anyway. You can go with Prisa." Lily said to Sam, referring to the twins using their last name.

"You two go ahead." He said before turning back to Lily. "I'll help you tidy up."

Once the twins had left Lily began shifting furniture back to it's rightful place. She noticed Sam wasn't helping, rather standing back to admire his handiwork. He shinned the apple against the hem of his shirt, then took a bite out of it. "Thanks for being a great teacher."

Lily shrugged off the compliment. "A teacher is only as good as their students."

When all the furniture was successfully in place she turned towards Sam. "I see you've made friends with the twins? Good luck."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh nothing, just... they don't exactly play by the rules."

"How so?" He inquired taking a step toward her, apple still in hand.

"Peeves used to go by the name 'Sir Walter Habbernash' until the twins came along and taught him a thing or two..." She said, having to look up at him.

He smiled at her, taking another step towards her until he was very close. "Maybe I don't play by the rules either." He whispered softly, his eyes dancing excitedly in the shadows.

As he took a step away to the doors he pulled the apple to his mouth and took a crunching bite.

* * *

><p>"You're staring." Elle whispered looking up from the book she had been reading, but she couldn't help the small smile that creept at the corner of her lips.<p>

"You're beautiful." He stated, causing Elle to blush.

She gave a nervous giggle as she went back to her work, burrying her face in the book. Trying to absorb all of the knowledge it can give. Remus went back to his work too, but soon it grew boring. So he slid his hand along the table and held onto Elle's.

She smiled into her book but didn't look up. Only acknowleging Remus with a small squeeze. She really had to get her runes essay done. Usually she didn't leave homework till the last minute, but this was an exception. She was always doing something with Remus, generally it was nothing more than talking, in the past weeks they had been together she had gotten to know him so much better. But she still thought he was holding something back from her, though she didn't know what.

His thumb lightly traced circles over the back of her hand, sending shivers down her spine, while her stomach performed flips for the unaware audience. Elle was staring at the book but she couldn't see the words, or at least, the words wouldn't form a sentence.

"I've read the same line 20 times!" Her smile cut into the harshness she had wanted.

Remus smiled at her, knowing he was the distraction. "Would you like me to stop?"

"...no." She sighed.

* * *

><p>He sat at the table, picking at his breakfast with a fork. Sam was too distracted to eat, his mind had wandered from eating to plans. His father had contacted him last night. After that he couldn't sleep, he was up all night planning.<p>

"Not hungry?"

"You look like you're thinking?"

"Is it about something interesting?"

"However..."

"You should still eat."

"Breakfast _is_ the most important meal of the day."

He vaguely remembered meeting the twins once at a party a few years back, _perhaps that's why they have latched onto me?_ He mused. Sharing a dorm with the two of them was... interesting, to say the least. He was almost certain he could tell the two of them apart, however when he tried, it was most likely that they would confuse him even more by telling him he was wrong.

Sam made the point of obviously scraping food onto his fork and lifting it into his mouth, chewing deliberatly. The twins nodded and grinned with satisfaction. The deep green of Slytherin made their hazel eyes sparkle. They had to be the only two people in the hall that looked awake yet, everyone else looked worryingly close to falling asleep into their breakfasts.

"Quidditch practise-"

"At 5. Are you coming?"

"Do I have a choice?" He asked around the food in his mouth.

"Nope!" Casey and Lee said in unison.

"Not now that you're on the team." Lee added.

Sam had decided to try out for the team when he had gotten to Hogwarts. He figured it would be a way to make friends, and at home he had been fairly good on his broom. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you there then."

The Prisa's had been on the Slytherin team for a couple of years now. They both played as Chasers, their uncanny ability to predict what the other was about to do came as a great advantage to the whole team.

Unfortunatly the third chaser was left a little in the dark, but after some time practising with the twins had finally come to understand the way they played. Sam would be taking over from the Keeper who had left last year.

"Cool. We better go."

"Transfiguration. McGonagall won't be happy if we're late."

"What've you got, Sammy?"

He rolled his eyes at the nickname they seemed to have given him. Sam disliked it but decided it was best to leave them be. "I have double free."

"Well well, lucky you!"

"Bye, Sammy-"

"Have fun!" The two boys stood up and left their fellow dorm mate alone at the Slytherin table.

After they left Sam tried to eat some more of his breakfast, but he wasn't hungry. Getting up, he grabbed his books that had been sitting beside him and headed for the door. He was planning on heading to the library so he could catch up on the copious amounts of homework he had.

* * *

><p>He walked into the library and headed for an empty table towards the back of the room. Sitting down, he opened his Defence Against the Dark Arts book and sighed; and so the work began. His essay due at the end of the week was currently non-existant.<p>

Sam stared at the empty parchment for a few moments before dipping his quil into the ink and writing two words; Shield Charms. The essay was meant to be on shield charms; what they are and how to use them.

He started his work;

_Protego is one of the most simpilist and effective shield spells. When cast, it creates an invisible barrier infront of the caster, protecting them from whatever harm they fear._

He stopped writing and stood up, going to search the aisles for a helpful book. Cranking his head back, he looked up the high shelves scanning in no particular order.

As Sam rounded the corner he was looking the wrong way and walked into someone. Quickly grabbing their arms he righted them to stop them from falling. Their books had gone flying onto the floor.

"Ooff!" The person who he had walked into sounded on impact.

"Sor-" He began. "Lily?" He asked when he realised who he had walked in to.

"Sam? Oh sorry! I wasn't looking, I couldn't see over the books." She rambled on, embarrased.

He looked at the floor and saw five books lying scattered around. "I should have been looking, sorry." He apologised as they both bent down and started picking up books.

"Transfiguration? You're very... dedicated..." Sam said after looking at the covers of the books.

Lily let out a small laugh. "Guilty as charged." was all she could say.

Sam handed her the books he had picked up and then stood up, Lily following closely after. "Um.. thanks."

She said with a smile, gesturing to the books. "Never thought I'd see you in the library..."

He shrugged. "I had a free period and a lot of homework to catch up on."

"Well I take it you're not studying transfiguration?"

"I get enough of that already." The two of them were waundering through the aisles with no place to go.

"Want me to take some of those?" Sam asked grabbing for the top three books off the small tower Lily was balancing.

"Can I help you with your homework?" Lily asked. She was forever helpful.

"Sure." He nodded and lead her over to his table.

After he filled her in on his subject, he asked if she knew where any good books were.

"Of course!" She lead him over to an aisle across the other side of the library and gestured to the whole wall of books. "All of these are on defensive spells, some of them aren't very good, some of them are only the spells. The tough part is sifting through the books and finding the best ones to use." She paused for a minute scanning a couple of the shelves before pulling out a number of books. Piling them into Sam's arms as she went. "There, these ones should be helpful for starting." She said with a smile.

Sam's muscles were working hard as he balanced the copious amount of books in his arms and stared at them worried. _Great, _he thought,_ how am I going to finish this essay by the end of the week now? _

"I know it looks like a lot," She said, sensing his hesitation. "But I can help you find the parts you need, if you want?"

He nodded and sighed in relief. "That would be great!"

"Anytime."

The two of them worked together throughout the rest of their first lesson. Lily had to leave for potions, but was confident in the work they had got through that leaving him alone wasn't too worrisome.

* * *

><p>"Hey Beautiful!" James said as Lily took a seat next to him.<p>

She looked around puzzled. "Since when are you early to potions?"

He didn't have time for a comeback as Slughorn walked in the room. He announced loudly what they would be doing today, stopping any chat that had been brewing before he had appeared.

"How was first?" He whispered under Slughorns talking.

"Fine," She whispered back, "I had a free lesson."

"Lucky for some!"

A glare from Slughorn stopped their hushed conversation for the time being.

Once Slughorn had sent them on their merry way, James and Lily were able to talk freely. "What did you do for your free period?" James resumed the unended conversation.

"Um, nothing really. I helped Sam with some homework." Lily continued working; not noticing James rolling his eyes when she mentioned Sam. "What did you have?"

James couldn't help but notice the time she was spending with Sam. He understood that schoolwork was a priority to her, but hanging out with Sam wasn't.

"Transfiguration." He answered, looking down into his book at the potion they were making that lesson.

Lily watched James as he worked. "You're doing it wrong." She couldn't help but point out. She reached over and placed her hand over his; helping him cut the herbs smaller, so that the potion would work as it was intended to. Lily was standing extremely close to James, her hand lingering softly over his.

"Thanks." He murmered, before Lily stepped away quickly and returned to her half of the table.

* * *

><p>"Lily, a word please." Professor McGonagall stopped her as she was leaving transfiguration class.<p>

"Professor?" She asked, still grasping her books to her chest.

"How is tutoring Hastings going? He has improved vastly in class."

Lilys face lit up at the news. "Really, Professor? I'm glad to hear it!"

"I would like him to continue tutoring with you, Lily."

"Of course, Professor."

"Good, I hope this isn't affecting your grades?"

"No." Lily said happily.

Professor McGonagall let her leave soon after their conversation. She clearly hadn't wanted to talk very long. As soon as she left the Transfiguration classroom she rushed to the great hall where she found Tami and Elle eating already. Breathless she sat down.

"There you are Lily! What kept you?" Tami asked when her friend arrived.

"Professor McGonagall was talking to me about Sam." Her friends waggled their eyebrows at her. "Not like that. Don't be silly. Besides I'm with James."

"Does Sam know that?"

"Does Sam know what? That I'm with James? Of course he does!" She told her friends sitting opposite her.

"Hey Lily!" James said coming up behind her and taking the seat next to her.

She quickly shot the girls a 'this conversation is over' look and smiled at her boyfriend. "Hey there."

"Hi!" Tami said. "We were just talking about you..."

Lily looked horrified, but James didn't notice. "Oh really?" He asked, grinning at the two girls opposite him.

"Oh yeah!" Elle joined in, trying to hold in her laughter after seeing Lily's face.

"What were you saying about me? Only good things I hope?"

"Nothing!" Lily shouted loudly before her friends could say anymore. "Nothing!"

They collapsed into a fit of giggles. Luckily the great hall was rather empty so not many people were there to witness their crazyness.

James could tell it was an inside joke between the three girls so he just left them to it and stayed out of it. He leaned over to Lily. "Want to go for a walk?" He whispered into her ear.

She bit her lip and nodded her head. Her cheeks blushed at the closeness.

* * *

><p>They walked up and up. Lily lost count of all the staircases they went up, there was just too many. But James seemed to know exactly were he was leading them.<p>

Still up and up they walked. It seemed like they would never get to their destination. Lily kept following James though, up and up.

They were nearly at the very top of the castle. The classrooms were getting more and more spread out. They ended up on the highest turret of the castle. The Astronomy tower.

Neither Lily nor James took Astronomy this year, only Tami took it. When they reached the top, wind whipped through Lily's hair, making it fly into her face. Their robes got caught in the vicious wind too.

James walked to one edge of the tower and leaned on the railing with his forarms. Lily followed after him, joiining him on the rail.

The view overlooked the forbidden forest. From above it looked innocent with the trees swaying in the wind. It expanded to the horizon, just a mass of small trees. From below the trees looked massive but from here they looked tiny and unobtrusive.

James turned towards Lily and looked into her bright green eyes. They gazed back at his, waiting for him to do something.

He leaned forward, slowly and hesitantly. Lily leaned into him, putting her arms around the back of his neck. He reached his arms around her waist, loosely holding her closer to him.

He lifted one hand to her chin and softly tilted her head up. Lily closed her eyes at his gentle touch. James leaned his face closer to hers. Her lips parted as his touched hers.


	8. Triangles

_Hi, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_I'd like to apologise for the delay, I think it's been over 2 weeks now, I really am a bad author. I try to get each chapter out fast, but it never seems to happen by the deadline that I want it to!_

_Also, this is kind of a short one, so I'm sorry for that too. I was going to add more, but I didn't really feel like anything else was needed for this chapter._

_I tried to get this out to you last night, but it got a bit late but hey, better late than never right! :P_

_Please Review, everything you say is helpful to me and I take into consideration while I'm writing!_

_Thanks again,_

_Enjoy,_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, no matter how many times I wave a wand in the air it doesn't become mine D:)_

* * *

><p>"Riker, can we talk?"<p>

Tami and Riker had been sitting together in the library studying – well, Riker was studying, Tami was pretending too. She had been trying to figure out her relationship with Riker; they spent a lot of time together, but did he just see this as friendship?

When a small girl had come up behind them and asked to talk to Riker, Tami was confused. She didn't know who the girl was, other than passing her in the corridors a couple of times. It was obvious from her blue and yellow scarf that she was a member of the Ravenclaw house and the glimmering P badge told Tami that she was a prefect.

Riker's mouth was open a little and his eyes screamed with confusion. "...Kelly?"

The girl named Kelly looked at the two Gryffindor students awkwardly.

"Hi! I'm Tami." She said to diffuse the tension, smiling and holding out her hand.

"I'm Kelly." She shook Tami's hand.

"I'm sorry, I don't rememeber you, are you in sixth form?" Tami asked, trying to keep the silence at bay. It was clear from the look on Rikers face that he wasn't going to be talking soon.

She ran a hand through her perfectly coiffed brown hair. The professional highlights shimmered in the light expensively. Giving a soft laugh, which seemed rehearsed, like she was forced to laugh at jokes that weren't funny a lot. "No, I'm in Riker's year."

"Oh, have you got prefect business to discuss?" She asked innocently.

Again another laugh. "No, I'm his girlfriend."

Tami glanced at Riker. "What?" She asked, eyes wide with curiousity.

Finally he stepped in with a shaky laugh. "_Ex-_girlfriend." Which received rolling eyes from Kelly.

Tami watched the two of them, eyes quickly darting between their faces. Without saying anything she stood up and left.

"Tami!" He called after her, unwillinging to run after her because he was curious as to why Kelly was there. "This had better be good, Kelly."

* * *

><p>She shook her head against the tears that were falling fast, willing noone to stop her in the corridor. Tami opened the door to an empty classroom and walked into the centre of it where she sat down. Desks and chairs surrounded her. She pulled up her knees until they were tucked under her chin, wrapping her arms around them. She placed her forhead onto her jean clad knees and let the tears fall steady and fast.<p>

Even if the relationship was _officially_ over, she understood that there was still feelings between them. Riker _said_ Kelly was his ex, however Tami wasn't so sure.

The thought of Riker not returning the feelings she had for him hurt her. Usually guys came up to her and made the first move, but that's what made Riker so alluring. He didn't come up to her first like most guys. Tami was used to boys fawning all over her, but not Riker. Riker was different. Tami was the one who had to make the first move, but obviously she hadn't done a clear enough job of it.

She had been hanging out with him for a couple of months now, but they had never progressed much past the friendship stage. What with his busy quidditch schedule, they didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but because nothing was official between them Tami had never mentioned it. However she did enjoy the time they did get to spend together, and had thought he did too. Now she wasn't so sure.

Her head whipped around at the sound of the door opening. Quickly she pulled out her wand and cast a simple invisibilty spell over herself. Standing up cautiously she heard the end of a conversation.

"... yeah I'll be right up. I just have to find something." It was Sam talking to a friend.

He shut the door behind himself and came in slowly, looking around for something. Tami was holding her breath, she took a few steps back while wiping the tears of her face.

She cringed as she backed into a table. At the noise, Sam squinted at the moved table. "Tami?" He spoke into the apparently empty room.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked in a shakey voice.

He lifted his wand and muttered a spell under his breath, making Tami visible to the world again. "I followed you." He shrugged his sholders in a nonchalant manner.

"Why?"

"To make sure you were ok. You seemed upset as you raced passed in the hall."

"So you followed me?"

"That's what I said." He moved closer towards her. "Are you? Ok, that is..."

"I'll be fine." She nodded.

He reached up a hand and wiped away the trails her make-up had made as it ran down her face, leaving lines of black. "You sure about that?"

Tami looked up at his face with wide eyes shining with the yet unshed tears. She shook her head, "No..."

He wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head on his sholder. He looked over her head, staring out of the window bored by the mundane situation. She sobbed into his sholder while he rubbed her back in a soothing way.

"Want to talk about it?"

* * *

><p>"Walk with me?" Kelly turned around not waiting for a response.<p>

Riker stood up and walked in step with Kelly. They left the main building of Hogwarts silently and continued through the grounds. He hunched his shoulders at the brisk wind that swept low between the trees, feeling it's stinging nip through his jumper. "Where are we going?" He asked, even though he was fairly sure he knew the answer.

Her sly smile was the only answer to his question. But after a year of her behaviour, he knew that his guess was correct.

The tree's thinned to form a small clearing, the sight never ceased to take Riker's breath away. Kelly and Riker had found it last year when they were dating. One day they had been walking through the schools vast grounds and stumbled across the clearing purely by accident.

"Why did you bring me here?" Trying to pretend he was uneffected by this place. Uneffected by the memories that had come flooding back to him;_"_

_I'm sorry, I just..." He searched for the right words. "...don't like you the same way I once did."_

_She looked out over the clearing not wanting to hear the words that he was speaking to her. "No! Don't say that! Please!" Begging wasn't exactly the road she had wanted to take, but she couldn't loose him._

_He felt awful when he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Kelly." Was all he could say._

"To talk." The present day Kelly brought him back.

"So talk." He wasn't going to make this easy on her. She brought him here, she was the one who wanted to see him.

She sighed and took a seat on the small concrete bench they had conjured up once upon a time. She remembered the last time they had sat on the bench together;

_She grabbed his hand with a playful laugh and pulled him into the centre of the circle. "Riker, I love you." She breathed looking up into his face, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was serious._

"_I love you too, Kelly." He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, hands running through her hair._

Shaking the memory from her mind, she looked up at him. "I never stopped loving you, you know? I thought you might have just needed space, so I backed off. But _her_? _Tami_? Over _me_?"

"Kelly, we broke up."

"I know you still love me, because feelings like that don't just go away." Tears started forming at the corner of her blue eyes. Taking a deep breath she brushed away the tears. "I can change." She breathed, looking up at him with wide innocent eyes. "All of those reasons why we broke up – I can change! I can be different!"

She was close enough to touch, all he had to do was reach out. But did he want to?

_Her dress flowed around her in the breeze, tickling at her skin. She smiled up at him curiously, "Won't you tell me your news?"_

_He grinned at her, the excitement created butterflys in his stomach. He held onto her soft hands loosely."I'm next years Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team!"_

_Kelly let out a squeal of delight. "Really?"_

_He nodded excitedly._

"_I'm so proud of you!" She drapped her arms around his broad shoulders. Leaning into his body on tip toes, she closed her eyes and kissed his lips gently. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and leaned down, pressing his lips into hers._

"Will you give me a second chance?" She asked, reaching for his hands that hung loose by his side.

Riker closed his eyes, didn't know what to do, he let her take his hands. Then he let her lean forward and place a hesitant kiss on his lips.

"Think about it." He felt her lips move over his. When he opened his eyes Kelly had left. He was alone in the clearing, and more confused than ever.

* * *

><p>The view overlooking the school grounds was amazing from the astronomy tower, even at night time with the moon's light reflected off silvery trees. But tonight Riker couldn't see the beauty, all he could see was the mind fought viciously between itself; to choose the person he had once loved, or the person he had yet to know.<p>

"Penny for your thoughts?" Came a voice from behind him. He had been too distracted with the war in his mind to hear Tami walk in behind him.

"They're not worth even a penny." He sighed.

She walked up next to him until she was leaning against the railing too, propped up by her forearms. "What did Kelly want?" She asked trying to keep her tone light.

Riker didn't reply, only continued staring into the nothingness. Trying to see in the darkness; searching for an answer that clearly did not want to be found.

"That bad, huh?"

"She want's to get back together with me."

Tami nodded slowly, she was trying not to judge him or let her feelings get in the way. More than anything she wanted to yell 'Are you blind? Can't you see I'm right here? I would never mess you around like she did!' but she also wanted to maintain a dignified composure and act as a friend with whatever decision he chose. "And do you? Want to get back together with her, I mean..."

He shrugged. "I-I don't know..."

"Well you should probably decide soon." Tami said straightening up. "Don't want to keep Kelly waiting." She spoke prim and properly to Riker, her voice fought to keep the tears in.

"But I don't want to make the wrong choice either!" He said turning away from the view towards Tami.

She paused and ran a hand through her blonde hair. "What is there to choose between?" She asked with a hopeful hint to her voice.

He hesitated before answering. "You tell me." He stumbled forward, closing the gap between Tami and himself.

"Well... you can choose a brunette, the two of you clearly have a past, she's a prefect, in ravenclaw and she's... alright looking." Tami finished with a sad smile at her attempt to not glorify Kelly.

"Go on." He said, smiling along with her.

"Or you can choose a girl, who, at the moment is just a friend, but who knows if there could be something more. She's got blonde hair and blue eyes. She's a year younger than you, she's a friend who you haven't really considered before. She's no prefect but she could be perfect for you." Tami took a moment, steadying her breath. She looked down, staring at the concrete floor underneath her feet unable to look into Rikers eyes.

He hesitated for a second, longing to walk over to Tami but his heart was torn; he had _loved_ Kelly. In the end his confused brain won and made his legs turn away from Tami and walk back to the railings. He sighed as he shifted his weight onto his forarms, leaning on the railing again. "All those things that made me hate her... she's willing to change. Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"

"And we don't even deserve a first chance?" It took every piece of will Tami had not to cry, when she could see herself loosing this fight.

"Yes... maybe... I don't know... I need some time to think about this. About everything." When Riker said this, Tami took it as her cue to leave. She silently left him alone, tears pouring down her face.

* * *

><p>"What's that?"<p>

"Anything interesting?"

Casey and Lee leaned over Sam's shoulder and peered at the newspaper he was reading. It was yet another morning at Hogwarts. Bleary eyed students staggered in eating food and finishing homework that was due before quickly rushing out to classes. Sam sat back and watched all of this as he read the newspaper at a leisurely pace. He had a study period first so he had nowhere to be fast.

"Not really." He answered the twins.

"Pity"

"So disappoin–" Lee stopped talking suddenly. He had just caught sight of a red eyed Tami walking into the room. Giving Casey a quick glance they both speedily made their way over to her.

Hooking an arm around each of Tami's arms they walked with her up to the Gryffindor table. "What's up?" Casey asked worriedly.

"Nothing!" Tami shook her head adamantly.

"Nothing?"

"Why don't I believe that?"

"Perhaps it's the red-eyed-I've-just-been-crying look?"

"Or the unwashed-hair-because-I'm-too-upset-to-shower look?"

"Or the–"

Casey was cut off by Tami. "Alright, alright!" She had had enough of the boys pointing out all the things wrong with her. "I'm just having a little guy trouble." She sighed, hating that she had to tell them her problems. But if she didn't they would only play the family card and tell her Mum.

"Who is he?"

"Want us to teach him a lesson?" Lee said menacingly.

"No!" Tami assured them quickly. "It's nothing."

The Prisa twins were Tami's cousins, and were therefore very protective of her because she was family. The three of them came from a very long line of pure bloods, however looking at them you couldn't tell they were related at all, what with the blonde and brown hair differences.

They both shot her a look that told her they weren't reassured. "Well, if anything happens"

"And you need us"

"You know where to find us."

"Thanks." Tami said as she sat down at the table next to her friends, Elle and Lily, who had come down earlier. She had waited for as long as she could in the dorm so she wouldn't have to spend any time bumping into Riker. She had also wanted to wait so that she could try and cover her blotchy tear ridden face with a heap of make-up.

* * *

><p>Kelly watched with smug gratification as Tami walked into the great hall. She smirked as the twins went and stood guard over her. Then she glanced down the Gryffindor table to where Riker had been sitting only minutes ago. He had sat, quite and pensive as he ate his breakfast. Kelly hoped that was a good thing and meant that he was thinking about her.<p>

She sat with her friends at the Ravenclaw table. They all knew about her wanting Riker back and agreed that she deserved him, more so than Tami anyway.

"What's taking him so long to decide between me or that monster?" She whined.

Her friends made soothing sounds around her, rubbing her arms. "Nothing!" and "You're the obvious choice!" were some of the phrases her friends had choosen to help. And Kelly had to admit they did help, no matter how she was feeling a compliment always made her feel better.

She pushed her breakfast around on her plate, to nervous to eat. She had waited long enough for Riker to realise his mistake and come rushing back to her, unfortunately for her this had never happended. He seemed quite content with the decision he had made to break things off with her. Not even getting upset or flustered when he had passed her in the corridors a few days later. This had bothered Kelly because she had expected to see him raw with emotions, not indifferent over their seperating.


	9. Trust

_Hey there, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_Once again I'd like to apologise for the delay on this chapter there really is no excuses – however I have a new system in place, one that I hope will work quite well. You can check my profile page and on there will be a dated message of an update on how the story/next chapter is coming along. With any luck I will be more proactive on updating that more often then I am with my chapters. So check that out if you want an update._

_Also fair warning I believe there is minor swearing in this chapter – literally one word which isn't that bad at all, but it is rated T (it wasn't when I first started this and then I realised what K meant and realised you couldn't do anything on K!), anway I don't plan on really doing anything T worthy, but just incase you know._

_Also just a mention to the editing, it's 10.30 here and I'm so tired, but I really want to get this posted before tomorrow which is why it hasn't been edited so I hope there are no spelling mistakes._

_Lastly, I saw HP7.2! Who else has? OMG DID YOU THINK IT WAS AMAZING? I can't believe it's all over now! All I have left are countless Potterthons (Harry Potter marathons) and this fanfic, plus I'm going to see it again on Thursday :P But tell me what you thought of it if you've seen it?_

_Thanks for reading,_

_Does anyone even read these author notes anyway?_

_Review Please!_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter – if I did, I would be a heck of a lot richer than I am now :P)_

* * *

><p>Elle felt someones eyes on the back of her head. Turning around she saw nothing but books and shook her head, questioning her sanity. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so on edge. Last night Remus had never come to dinner and she didn't understand why. The absence of James, Sirius and Peter didn't go unnoticed, but wasn't her main focus. Lily had tried to keep her entertained but was clearly worried about James not being there.<p>

It was a Saturday and she had homework to be doing, so instead of sitting around the common room fretting over Remus, she had gone down to the library.

"Elle?"

She looked up to see James coming up to her table and flopping into a seat. He looked even more ragged then usual. His eyes were red and bleary with dark circles underneath. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. The way he was drapped over the table now told Elle that her that she was probably correct.

"James? You look tired..."

He nodded his head. "I am."

"Oh." Elle didn't know what else to say to him so she went back to her work. She didn't want to have to ask about Remus but she did want to know where he was.

"Remus asked me to come and talk to you." James started.

Elle automatically sat up straight in her chair, discarding her homework. "Yes...?" She prompted him.

"He wanted me to tell you that he's fine, just feeling a little sick. So he'll probably be in bed today, he might come out tomorrow." He repeated to her what Remus had told him and watched her hopeful smile turn into a sad frown.

"Oh ok." She sighed. "Maybe I'll go up and see him later..." She mused.

Saying that sparked a response from James. "No!" He said loudly in what seemed like a shout in the quiet library. "I mean, he's fine honestly, just a little under the weather."

Elle was taken a back at James' response. "Should you take him to the hospital wing..."

"He's fine - just wanted me to reassure you that he's fine and misses you that's all!" James said before standing up. "Do you know where Lily is?"

"No, sorry." Elle answered. "She was in the common room when I left..."

"Yeah, she's not there now..." James muttered to himself as he walked away from Elle.

After her conversation she tried to focus on her homework, but it wasn't easy. All she could think about was Remus. She was worried there was something wrong with him. Obviously if it was serious his friends would tell her, or, at the very least, would have taken him to the hospital wing. She tried to convince herself to stop worrying, however it didn't seem to be working.

"Funny isn't it?"

Elle turned around in her seat and noticed Sam standing behind her. "Excuse me?" She asked, unsure what he meant and even whether he was talking to her.

"How easily someone can lie." He stauntered over to Elle with a smug look on his face. "But secrets are hard to keep, sooner or later they all unravel."

"What are you talking about?" She asked raising an eyebrow to the insanity that seemed to flow out of his mouth.

"Isn't it obvious? Your boyfriend's keeping secrets from you, and why would you keep secrets from your girlfriend?" He said in a sickly sweet voice.

Elle shrugged, she had always felt like perhaps Remus was holding back from her, but decided that if he didn't want to tell her than he shouldn't have to.

Sam leaned in close to Elle's ear. She longed to jerk away from him, but didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had intimidated her. There was definitely something off about him. "When you're doing something wrong." He whispered too softly. His warm breath sent shivers down Elle's spine.

"He's not doing anything wrong." Elle defended him. Her voice was shakey because in her heart she wasn't sure if she truly believed those words.

"Oh you're probably right. Infidelity is no big deal."

"What?" Elle whispered. Disbelief coursed through her veins.

Sam started walking away from her. "Forget I ever said anything!" He called back to her.

She watched him leave, never seeing the huge smirk that covered his face. He knew that she had fallen for it, and he knew that if the truth about what she was told ever came up he could truthfully say he never accused Remus of anything.

* * *

><p>James staggered into the dorm and immediately flopped onto the nearest bed. He was so worn out from last night. It had been a full moon and he had been at the shrieking shack, supporting Moony, with his friends.<p>

"Well?" Remus said, his voice strained. He used his elbows to prop himself up in bed.

James grunted unintelligently, raising his head. The only muscle he could force to move.

"Did you tell Elle? Did you tell her I wouldn't be down?"

James nodded his head. "Yup, don't worry. And she looked suffeciently worried you'll be pleased to know."

"Worried? That's not good!" Remus struggled and started flicking bedsheets off of him.

"Hey! What are you doing?" James leapt up with renewed energy. "You have to stay in bed, Moony!" He pushed his friends shoulder down gently and started pulling the bedsheets back around him. Remus gave up too easily. He lay back down in his bed, too weak to argue with James.

"Did she say anything else?"

"She wanted to come up and see you, but I told her not to."

Remus nodded. _That's probably for the best,_ he thought._ Better for her not to see me like this. _

"Are you going to be ok?" James asked. "I have to go and see Lily."

"I'll be fine! Stop fussing!"

* * *

><p>James was wondering down corridors pointlessly, searching for Lily. "Tami!" He shouted, spotting his friend, running down the corridor to her.<p>

"Oh hey!" She said stopping to talk to him. Allowing her friends to walk on ahead of her.

With barely a glance at them James was able to determine that none of them were Lily, who he was looking for.

Tami was wearing a very flattering dress; the bright flowers seemed vibrant against the black gackground while the ruffles around the bottom tickled her thighs. "What's going on?" She asked with a curious smile, her eyes sparkled with kindness.

"Have you seen Lily?"

"Umm..." She frowned trying to remember where she last saw Lily. "Sorry, I don't think I've seen her today. Not since breakfast."

James sighed, fnding her was proving harder than he had thought it would. "Thanks anyway, Tami."

"Anytime!" She said cheerfully and raced off to catch up with her friends. The star chaser walked down the corridor glumly. He wracked his brain, trying to think of possible places she could have been.

* * *

><p>After Sam left, Elle had sat in silence staring at nothing. She couldn't believe that Remus would do something like that to her. He seemed to really like her, but there were those times when he would just disappear for a couple of days every month, and she had to wounder where he was.<p>

Although a second girlfriend seemed unlikely she knew Remus was hiding something. She hadn't wanted to ask because she didn't want to pry. _What if it was something private?_ She thought. _Something he wasn't comfortable telling me?_

After giving it some consideration, Elle packed away her books and headed for the common room.

She bumped into Lily on the way up. "Hey!" Her friend said.

"Lily! Where are you going?" Elle asked, busy with thoughts about Remus.

"I'm tutoring Sam." She said with a sigh, giving her friend a smile. They had spent many nights staying up late discussing everything. Sam had obviously come up, he was unmistakingly good looking and although Lily agreed she found his arrogance unfathomable.

"I spoke to him earlier today..." Elle trailed off.

"And...?"

"And he was... strange." She shook her head, before giving Lily a pitying smile. "Good luck!" She said and called goodbye to her.

Her books made a thud as they landed heavily on the floor of her dorm. She walked over to Lily's bed and grabbed the Daily Prophet off her bedside table. Glancing at the front page she was worried by the headline **Wizard Disapperances Rise**.

She flopped onto her bed and continued to read about how the death toll is rising. _'You-Know-Who is to blame for the rising number of deaths all around England. Although the Ministry officialy still refuses to admit that such a wizard exists, our sources tell us it is him. By means of the unforgivable curses both muggles and wizards alike are dying...' _It then went on to express the danger and warned families to cast protective enchantments and take special precautions.

Elle looked up from then newspaper when the door opened. "You look happy." Elle told her friend Tami, who had just bounced into the room.

"I am!"

"Does that mean that Riker dumped Kelly?" She dared to ask.

Immediately Tami's face froze. "No. Not yet. Dumped is the wrong word anyway. They aren't together..."

"Oh..." She wasn't sure how upset Tami would be. She had cried for a week after Riker had told her he wasn't sure who he wanted to be with, and it was only now that she was starting to act more like her old self.

"I'm just happy because I've decided to hell with Riker! He can do what he wants! Why should I have to wait for him!"

Elle was shocked. She wasn't prepared for such a sudden change of heart from Tami. "Um, you don't!"

"Exactly!" Tami's arms flew widely around her as she talked, placing emphasis on what she was saying. "I shouldn't have to mope around in my room waiting for him! I should be out there having fun with friends!"

"Ok!" Elle said laughing at her friends over exaggeration.

* * *

><p>"She won't even look at me!" Remus sighed exasperated. "I don't know why." He pushed food around his plate angrily. It was dinner time at Hogwarts, the whole school was gathered around their respective tables eating with friends. Chatter rose to the high bewitched ceiling filling the air with constant noise.<p>

"I'm sure it's nothing, Moony." Sirius reassured his friend.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" James asked confused.

"I tried! But it's been days and she keeps making excuses then leaving before I get to talk to her."

"Well try again. And keep trying till you finally know what's wrong." James said ruffling his hair. He was acting a little short because he and Lily were making eyes at each other down the table so this conversation was somewhat boring to him.

Remus muttered unintelligently into his plate. James had a point and he could see that. He was worried about why Elle hadn't talked to him and was fearing the worst. _Maybe_, he thought, _she doesn't like me anymore._

"Do you have Quidditch training tomorrow, Prongs?" Sirius changed the subject turning to James.

"Yeah..." He murmered, smiling at Lily, who blushed and glanced away. "Why?"

"Have you written the Defence Against the Dark Arts essay yet?"

James' head whipped around, his face frowning instantaneously. "What essay?"

"Oh the werewolf one?" Remus asked lightly.

"When's that due?" James groaned. He glanced down at his food, he was suddenly not hungry. Letting the fork drop to his plate with a clatter, he looked at Sirius, awaiting a response.

"Couple of days..." Remus answered with a shrug.

The two of them turned towards Remus and smiled. "Since you're an expert..." James started.

"Do you think you could..."

"You know..."

"Write our essays for us?"

Remus sighed. He always gave in too easily when his friends were involved. "Alright, fine. You owe me though!" His mind wondered to thoughts about Elle. He worried about what was wrong, or if he had done something wrong. Of course he had missed a couple of days, but that was hardly his fault. Unless Elle had somehow found out that he was a werewolf and was disgusted by him.

_But how would she have figured out? _Remus thought. _Elle is clearly a very smart witch and capable of __noticing the signs, and it is possible that Lily told her..._

Except that Remus trusted Lily and refused to think that she could possibly have told her a secret as big as his. He could have been completely overreacting however and she could have problems herself, which would explain why she was upset.

He glanced down the table at her again. She was playing with her food; pushing it around her plate rather than eating it, looking dejected, much the same as he was.

"What are you two whispering about?" James asked Sirius and Peter who were sat opposite him. The two of them had been whispering for weeks and James was sick of it.

"Nothing." Sirius said with a sly smile. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Now I'm worried. Wormtail?"

Peter glanced at Sirius, unsure what he should say. He had always been a follower rather than a leader and it was clear he idolized Sirius. Which means that he wouldn't want to do anything Sirius would dissaprove of – sharing this secret being one of those things.

"Don't tell him anything, Wormtail!" Sirius warned.

James looked at the two of them before shrugging his shoulders and changing the subject. "It's the holidays at the end of this week. Got any pranks planned?" He asked, hoping to join in on anything they had planned.

The two of them shared a knowing look. "Not for _this _term..." Sirius said before standing up. Peter immediately followed after him leaving James and Remus on their own.

* * *

><p>Remus had managed to catch Lily as she left the great hall and asked if she would be able to get Elle to cover for her. This evening Lily and himself were meant to be on patrol. As Gryffindor prefects, Lily and Remus were meant to go on routine checks that involved walking around the desserted corridors at night to make sure no students were out of bed. They were long and boring but being with Lily, a friend, made them a little less boring. But if Lily was able to get Elle to cover for her, it would supply the perfect opportunity for Remus to confront her and ask what was wrong.<p>

He was sat in the common room waiting to see if Elle was coming. "Look! I have dragon pox!" Sirius, Peter and James were keeping him company. It was Sirius who had made this ridiculous comment. James was examining his arm because he thought it had a certain green tinge to it, which of course it didn't.

"I don't know..." James started to talk as he pulled away from the arm.

"No, look at it properly! It's green!" Swinging his arm over he shoved it under Remus' nose. "Moony, look!"

Remus' face was one of disgust. He pulled back from the arm and pushed it away with his hand. "Padfoot, you don't have dragon pox! Stop being silly and get your arm out of my face!" He was preoccupied with telling Sirius off that he didn't realise when Elle walked up behind him.

"Elle!" He jumped off his seat and stared at her.

"We have duty now..." She said quietly looking at the floor rather than at him. Sirius and the others seemed to have stopped talking as they all knew about Remus and Elle. They had suffered through Remus' insist worrying to know that this moment was important.

"Yeah," Remus said. "Are you ok to go?"

Elle took a deep breath. "Yup, let's go." And with that she walked towards the doorway and left the common room, not waiting to see if Remus was following.

He raised his eyes and looked to his friends. "Wish me luck." He mumbled sarcastically before he walked out after Elle. The other three marauders stared pitifully at him, thinking how lucky they were to not be in the same situation.

She was waiting outside of the portrait for him. Her face was very nondiscript, she had worked hard to make sure she showed no emotions on her face. "Let's just patrol." She said quickly before he could get any words in.

Both of them were wearing their school robes only Elle didn't have a 'P' badge on hers. Admittedly she had been disappointed when she hadn't been made prefect but her Mum had reassured her and convinced her that if Dumbledore had wanted her to be a prefect he would have made her one. He must have had a reason for not and it was probably a very good reason. Elle decided it was best if she just focused on her school work for now, so that's what she was doing. Or at least trying to do, a boy was a distraction she hadn't expected to have.

After walking around the hallways for 20 minutes the silence became unbearable. They hadn't met any students out of bed the whole time. "Please talk to me!" Remus begged, coming to a stop.

"What do you want me to say?" She asked monotonusly.

"Anything! Anything is better than nothing, than this silence..."

She sighed and then started walking. Remus followed after her and as soon as he did she talked about _anything_. "I got a 'C' in my Ancient Runes essay today. I was having a shitty day and that mark just didn't help at all." She was ranting now. "I had a shitty weekend actually. It just seemed to be one thing after the another..."

This was the first emotion he had seen on her face all day but it wasn't one he had hoped to see. It was anger, disappointment and sadness. Her face was set hard, her cheek bones were jutting out and her teeth were clenched forcing her mouth into a tight, thin line.

"What else happened?" He treaded carefully.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She yelled, spinning around to face him.

Her voice echoed down the empty corridor. "Doing what?" He asked quietly, which contrasted to her loud outburst.

"Why are you being so nice to me? Why are you acting like you like me when you don't? When you _can't_?" She controlled her voice this time.

He stared at her in shock. _She knows_. He thought. It was all he thought. He just repeated those two words in his mind over and over.

"Look, I'm tired. No one has come, I think I'm going to go to bed." Elle strode away from Remus. Leaving him standing in a deserted corridor, with only his thoughts to keep him company. The words 'she knows' still raced through his mind.

His hands curled into fists, he was angry that Elle knew and angry that she didn't like him because of it but he was more angry at himself and at his disease. He punched the stone wall next to him to release some of that anger. Fortunately it didn't work, but it also made pain flare up in his hand, and the skin on his knuckles crack on impact. He flexed his fingers, none of them were broken but they were tender. He had shocked himself with this sudden outburst, he was usually the calm collected one, but not this time.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you, Lily!" Remus grasped his red haired friend on the shoulder, causing her to stop and turn around. He was fuming with anger; his mouth was set in a thin line and his eyes raged. He had had the night and a new day to think over everything that had happened but he had still come to the same conclusion.<p>

Lily had been walking on the school grounds, heading to the library to catch up on some extra homework. "Excuse me?" She asked, completely shocked by this sudden outburst. Remus was a prefect like Lily and was expected to behalf like one. He was often the one trying to convince his friends not to go ahead with the prank they had been planing, or trying to get them to complete homework. His attempts were unfortunately pointless but that never stopped him from trying.

"I can't believe you told her!" His voice punctuated every word as he spat with anger.

"Told who what?" Lily was still confused. She had absolutely no idea what Remus was talking about, however she assumed it was something serious if he was acting like this.

He took a step towards her and lowered his voice. "About _me_, obviously. I thought you could keep this secret. I thought I could trust you."

"You can trust me!" Her eyes searched his. Desperately trying to find an answer to his anger but coming up with nothing. "I don't understand what I've done!"

"You've ruined everything. That's what you've done." He spat before turning around and briskly walking away back into the castle. Leaving Lily to stand there, wild-eyed, more confused than ever about what was happening. She decided it was best to talk to Elle and find out what was going on rather than trying to get a sensible answer out of Remus right now.

She had to walk all the way back to the dormitory she had just left, thankful that she didn't meet Remus again. All the while she tugged at her black robes, she kept repeating the words Remus had said to her 'you've ruined everything' – did that mean Elle and Remus were finished? She certainly hoped not, they had been a long time coming and deserved each other. If it was all her fault she didn't know whether she would be able to forgive herself.

Lily walked into her dormitory fearing the worst. She peaked her head around the door and saw a miserable Elle sitting on her bed. Her usual bright happy face was downcast and sad. Lily took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

Elle glanced up at the sound. "Oh, hey Lily." She spoke with no enthusiasm in her voice.

"Is everything ok, Elle?" She asked as she cautiously walked over to her friend.

Elle's shoulders sagged as she let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, me and Remus just got into a fight."

"What about?" Lily was thankful that Elle couldn't see her face. She was careful to make sure her voice sounded innocent and sincere but her face gave away that she knew the truth.

"Well... I'm not sure if you've noticed but Remus... he sneaks out at night sometimes. I think it might be with another girl." Her eyes fulled with tears as she thought about everything. "Am I wrong to be angry with him? He might not even be cheating on me, he might have a perfectly good reason to be behaving the way he is. Besides we've only been going out for a month, is it too soon for me to get angry over this? Do you think he'll just think I'm being over jealous and end up hating me forever?"

"Woah, calm down!" Lily tried to sooth her friend. "You think Remus is cheating on you?"

Elle nodded and tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"Elle, this is Remus we are talking about. I don't think he is cheating on you. If he is, then he's an idiot. You are an amazing person and one of my best friends. You are ridiculously smart and beautiful and funny and all round great at everything. He would be stupid not to want to be with you."

"But... he sneaks out all the time, he comes into class looking tired like he's been out all night, is there any other explanation?"

"Maybe you should ask him yourself..." Lily didn't want to tell a secret that wasn't hers. "There's probably a very resonable explanation, just sit him down and talk."

Elle sniffled and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'm kind of tired right now. I might go to sleep." She added through a yawn.

Lily nodded and stood up walking back towards the doors. "I've just got one thing to do, I'll be up later." But she hadn't need to say this, Elle was already asleep before she had left.

* * *

><p>Now it was time for Lily to sneak up on Remus for a little payback. When she saw him sitting alone at a library table she took her opportunity. "You think she knows about your disease."<p>

"Don't call it that!" He chided her automatically.

"What do you want me to call it? Your 'furry problem'? It's not a joke, Remus, it's serious. It's a disease. And just FYI I never told Elle anything because _I_ shouldn't have to. You should have told her yourself. Elle isn't stupid, she's going to figure out sooner or later the truth and then she's going to be upset because you didn't tell her first. Trust is the basis for any relationship, it will do you well to remember that."

Remus knew that Lily was right, but he still couldn't help feel like a naughty school boy being told off. "Yeah? And you think your relationship is full of trust?" He blurted out anything that he could that would upset her.

That had done the trick. "What?"

"_I_ shouldn't have to tell you. _He_ should tell you himself." Remus sneered, mimicking Lily. Only the way he had done it was harsh and cruel, she had meant it in the best possible way.

Lily furrowed her eyebrows. _What secret could James possibly have that he is keeping from me?_ She thought. She had thought she had known, not everything, but most things about him.

He realised what he had done. He felt horrible looking into her sad face. Her eyes had dropped and the brightness which usually filled them was gone. "I didn't mean that." Remus said, trying to undo what had already been done. "I was just angry at you, I don't even know why... James – he doesn't keep secrets from you, and _if_ he does it's to protect you."

She looked up at him and could see the anger was gone and was replaced with anxiety, he was clearly very worried about what he had just told her. "You're right." Lily said, nodding slowly. "If James does have a secret I trust that he will tell me when the time is right."

Remus looked relieved and Lily guessed it was because he hoped she wouldn't pursue this. And he would be right, she wasn't going to. James could tell her when he wanted to, if he wanted to, not because his friend made a mistake and said something while he was angry.


	10. Holiday

_Hey there, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_So it actually hasn't been that long, I'm quite happy with the time it took me to write this as it was about 13,000 words long. Because it was so long I decided to split it into two chapters which means the next one should be up pretty soon as it is written._

_Alright so this chapter is the beginning of their holidays and the next chapter will continue on with the holidays._

_I would like to thank my friend Sabrina, she's been really nice and reads this fic when she can :D she's amazing (and I hope she enjoys this little shout out). I also want to thank you, for reading this! You guys are so great for following this story, I hope that it lives up to your expectations._

_There is one song in this chapter – Silly Love Songs by the Beatles._

_Thanks again,_

_Please review (it lets me now how you think the story is going, critic is welcomed!)_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer: **I only own some the characters in this fic :D)_

* * *

><p>"You promise we'll catch up over the holidays?" Tami pouted and held out her pinky finger.<p>

Elle and Lily laughed before hooking their fingers together. All three of them were sitting in a carriage on the Hogwarts Express train. After being at Hogwarts for the whole term they were all excited about going home for the holidays to see their families.

Unfortunately Riker still hadn't chosen between Tami and Kelly. Tami put on a brave face but her friends could tell that she was hurting on the inside, she wanted Riker to choose her over Kelly. But that hadn't happened yet.

"Sleepover at Tami's!" Elle suggested and the other girls agreed. She could use the distraction she still wasn't sure if Remus had been sneaking out with another girl, but since he hadn't said otherwise she assumed Sam was telling the truth.

The train came to a stop at Kings Cross Station, looking outside all they could see was a sea of parents awaiting their children. Hauling their trunks off of the racks above their heads they hugged goodbye and made their way onto the platform. Each of them went their seperate ways searching for their parents.

Elle had had a letter from her Mum saying that she couldn't pick her up from the station so she was left on her own to make her way home by herself. Same with Tami, she hadn't even bothered telling her parents that she was coming home for this holiday. Knowing them, her Dad probably would have forgotten to pick her up and her Mum would have had other arrangments that she couldn't cancel. Lily was the only one whos parents had come, but her sister had chosen not to. Unwilling to forgive her sister for something she couldn't help.

* * *

><p>Walking through the big double doors she arrived in the familiar entrance hall. She sighed and remembered why she usually stayed at Hogwarts during the holidays. The cold, distant feeling screamed out of every wooden piece of classic furniture in there.<p>

Tami dumped her bags next to the door and left them for the servents to pick up. She walked up one of the symmetrical staircases that led to the second floor. Her heels clanked on the marble stairs, echoing off the high ceilings. Her shoes were cushioned by the thick carpet as she walked down the hallway. She glanced at the paintings of her many ancestors staring down at her from the walls. Tami shivered, she always found their beady eyes disconcerting.

She opened the door to the library and walked past the countless books, striding down aisles like she was on a mission. Coming to one ceiling high bookshelf, undistinguishable from any other in the room, she pulled a book down and walked through a hidden entrance to her Dad's study. Usually one would only have to pull out their wand and receit a quick spell. However with underage wizardry against the law, her father had quickly cast a spell allowing the movement of the book to trigger the doors opening.

"Daddy!" Tami squealed as she spotted her Dad behind a desk writing on a piece of parchment.

He looked up when he head her. "Tami, Darling!" He stood up and held his arms out for a hug. "How good to see you! How have you been?"

"Better now that I'm home!" She smiled at him as he returned back to his letter.

"Good good." He muttered, already preoccupied with his work. Douglas Prisa was Head of Magical Law Enforcment at the Ministry. He worked whenever his job needed him; be that day, night, weekend or holiday. Tami had grown up with his lifestyle and was used to it by now, but it still saddened her to see the small amount of time she got to spend with him.

"Where's Mum?"

"Out, shopping or whatnot." The half-hearted mutter was all she got in response.

"Bye Dad." Tami said as she turned and left the room. It was the same everytime she came home. _I don't know why I expected him to be any different this time. _She thought.

She continued down the hallway to her bedroom. Stepping inside her room she smiled. It was like her own inner sanctum. The white walls were highlighted with light green acessories bringing brightness into the room. Her massive double bed lay opposite the french doors that led onto a small balcony. She loved her room because her parents had let her do what she wanted. It was a stark contrast to the cold furniture that was outside of her doors.

Tami's modern furniture held traces of the past 16 years of her life; pictures stuck onto the wall of herself, Elle and Lily, letters that had been written over the lonely holidays lay scattered over her desk and old jewellery hung from hooks. Memories of sleepovers came flooding back to her as she walked further into the room.

"Tami!" Mark ran into her room and sweept her up in his arms, swinging her around in a big bear hug.

She squealed in surprise. "Put me down! Put me down!" She laughed, swatting at his arms.

When he finally let him go she turned around smiling and pulled him into a proper hug. Mark was Tami's brother, he had been off traveling around Britian for the past couple of months before he started working at the Ministry. Tami had occasionally recieved letters from him, updating her on his travels.

"I have a surprise for you!" He said.

She stood on her toes so she could reach around his neck and hug him. She glanced over his shoulder and noticed a girl standing in her doorway. Without taking her eyes off of her, she whispered in Marks ear. "Is the surprise that there's a strange girl standing behind you..."

Mark chuckled and untaggled himself from Tami, moving back to the girl. Putting a hand on the small of her back, he led her forward with a smile. "Tami, this is Katie, my fiancee." The word still sounded quite alien to him but he couldn't help grinning. This was the first time he had introduced her as his fiancee.

Tami plastered a smile on her face but her eyes went wide in shock. "That... is a surprise." Tami didn't know what to say, this was definitely a _big_ surprise. Her brother had never seemed like the kind of person who would get married at a young age.

"Hi." Katie held up her hand. "I've heard wonderful stories about you!" Tami could tell she was trying to be friendly.

"Hey!" She said as energetically as she could. Mentally shaking her head, trying to clear away the confusion. "I've heard nothing about you..." She muttered under her breath.

"I've got to go do something quick, can you just look after Katie for a minute?" He asked, pleading with his eyes.

Tami's checks were hurting because she was still smiling. "Wait! I don't – um.."

Mark turned and left the room, giving her a last warning look with his eyes. Katie stood were she was, fidgeting with her hands. "So, is this your room?" She asked politely.

"Uh-ha." Tami nodded eyeing her up. Katie was pretty that was for sure, she had soft brown hair with light highlights that cascaded in curls down to her shoulders. She was wearing a short black dress, very simple but made her look dazzaling. Her legs looked longer with the black pumps that she was wearing, and her legs were dark for winter.

"It's nice!" She complimented Tami, she too hadn't stopped smiling since she had gotten here.

Tami wasn't sure if she was magical, or even if she knew about magic, and so was worried about mentioning something she shouldn't. "Thanks. Wonder what's taking Mark so long..." Tami said, glancing at the clock that was by her bed.

The two of them stood in silence, looking at one another when they thought the other wasn't paying attention, then quickly glancing away before they were caught staring. Mark had never mentioned a girl to Tami in any of the letters he had sent her. Tami thought they were close enough to share everything, now she was second guessing that.

"I'm back!" Mark announced, coming round the corner. The two girls let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Katie, come meet my parents!" He said, leading her out of the room, before mouthing 'thank you' to Tami.

* * *

><p>Standing in front of the kitchen cupboard, Tami, looked through the food, not picking anything out. Her mind wondered off the food and onto Riker, it had been two weeks and he still hadn't chosen. <em>Or maybe he chose Kelly<em>, Tami thought. _And not me..._

"Tami?" Susan walked up behind her, quickly snapping her out of her reverie. "We're having dinner soon."

Susan was born and raised in America. She had never wanted to leave America, but Douglas went to visit there one summer after his school years and they fell in love. She followed after him, even though that meant going all the way to England.

"Mum!" Tami was glad her Mum was home. She took a deep breath, refamiliarising herself with her Mum's perfume. "How are you?"

Susan's blonde curls bounced as she led her daughter over to the living room. "Good. How has school been? Keeping up with all the work, I hope?"

Tami looked a lot like her Mum; they both had blonde hair and green piercing eyes, but the similarities ended with apperances. Susan was very conservative and it annoyed Tami to no end. No matter how hard she tried, Tami never seemed to live up to the expectations her parents placed on her.

* * *

><p>She stood outside her front door, daring herself to go in. To have the courage to join her "happy" family, to fake the smiles, to pretend to be happy for her Mums sake. Taking a deep breath she plastered a smile on her face, and opened the door.<p>

"Darling you're back!" Her Mum came running down the hall and swooped down on Elle, pulling her into a tight hug.

Elle genuinely smiled this time and hugged back, "Mum! It's great to see you again!"

"Oh I've missed you so much!" She said grabbing Elle's trunk and dragged it into the house, before dumping it in the hallway.

"Where's Dave?" Elle asked apprehensively, glancing around the hall.

"Your Father is out at work. Mandy should be back from university in a couple of days and Jake is out and about somewhere. They're all excited to see you!"

Elle doubted that very much. Ever since her Step-Father found out about her and her Mothers magical abilities he had started favouring his two _normal_ kids. "Great." She said, trying to sound exciting for her Mums sake.

Her Mum led her into the kitchen, where she started making a hot chocolate for both of them, a winter tradition. "How's school been, Sweetie?" She said grabbing two mugs out of the cupboard.

"It's been good. I've been missing you though. How's everything been going here?"

She seemed surprised that Elle would ask that, "Everything's fine, why?"

"No reason." Elle said, sitting on the tall stool in the kitchen. She shuffled some papers that were in front of her. Glancing at them she could see the red A's that were scrawled across the top of them all. _Typical Dave_, Elle thought. _Leaving out all his kids work, to brag. But of course, he would never have any of my stuff out._

"Here you are." Her Mum handed her the steaming mug with a smile. The two of them sat enjoying the silence of each others company, slurping their hot chocolates.

* * *

><p>"Judy!" Came Daves booming voice as he opened the door. Elle repressed her sigh and faked a smile for her Mums benefit.<p>

"Yes honey?" Judy called back.

"What's this big, ugly trunk doing in my way?" He grunted as he walked into the kitchen. "Oh, its you." He said with a hint of disgust when he saw Elle.

"Hey Dave. Good to see you again." She tried so hard to be polite.

He grunted at Elle inarticulity, wanting to have as little contact with her as possible. Dave had come into Elle's life 6 years ago, when her Mum remarried. He adores his two children from his first marriage; Amanda and Jake but Elle is a different story. Dave has never liked Elle, and when he found out about her magical abilities he was ready to throw her and her Mum out, somehow Judy convinced him otherwise, though Elle still wishes she hadn't.

Still eyeing Elle like she was a disease that could be caught, he ordered his wife to fix him some food. As Jude got to work, he glared at Elle, warning her about the use of magic in his house.

_If he had even stopped and tried to understand magic,_ thought Elle. _Then he would know I'm not allowed to perform it outside of school._

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making Dave a sandwhich." Judy said, still pottering around the kitchen, pulling out bread, butter, several types of meat and vegetables.

Elle watched in amazement. She didn't understand how her Mum could be so devoted to the Muggle who is too lazy to make his own food or wash his own clothes. This is the same man who forced Jude to quit her job at _Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ and has forbidden the use of her wand.

"He can make his own." She muttered under her breath. She was sure that her Mum could hear her, and was only choosing not to pay attention and kept working.

* * *

><p>They stayed up late, talking well into the night, her Mum eager to her of the adventures Elle and her friends were having, and the boy that she was seeing. "...Remus Lupin? The name isn't familiar..." Judy mused.<p>

Elle stared at the dying flames, making her sleepy. "You probably don't know hi-" She was interrupted by Dave turning the television off and getting up noisely from his well-worn position on the couch.

"Right, I'm off to bed. Mind you two don't yabber on all night. I have work tomorrow." He said like he actually had to be up early for his job. "Don't be noisey coming to bed, else I'll be angry."

Judy actually nodded in agreement. Elle watched her face, trying to read the emotion as it passed by. She saw willingness, sadness, and maybe, what she thought, was a hint of fear. It was not hidden from Elle, no matter how hard Judy may try, that she was hit on occasion. Most of the time, it was when Elle was at school and so she was helpless to do anything about it.

Elle's Mum got off the couch and went upstairs, getting the bed ready for Dave, like he was incapable of doing it himself.

From the couch, Elle heard a thud from the hallway, followed my a string of explicit language. She cringed in her seat, waiting. She didn't have to wait long. Through the door walked a very red-faced Dave. He was breathing heavily through his nose as though he was trying to calm himself down. A vein in his forhead was throbbing. This restraint was rather uncommon, usually hell would have been unleased by now.

"Move. Your. Bloody. Trunk." He spat out each word, with a hidden threat behind them.

"Sorry, Dave." Elle breathed, waiting for the normal Dave to show himself.

He stormed over to Elle, and grabbed her arm, yanking her off the couch. "Sorry? I hurt myself on your trunk. It's your fault. You stupid, good-for-nothing witch." The spit from his mouth landed on her face, as he held her close, whispering as loudly as he dared.

Elle cringed away from the leering man. He leaned over her, making her feel small and insignificant. She gasped out in pain as he tightened his grip on her arms, fingers digging into soft flesh.

Finally he let go, knowing that he would have left a mark and taught her a lesson. He opened his mouth showing teeth, Elle realised that was his idea of a smile. She backed away from him, although she didn't want to give him the satisfaction, she wanted to get away from him more. She held onto her still stinging arm and watched as he turned away and left the room.

"Sorry Sweetie! I'm back now, where were we?" Judy said, joyfully bouncing into the room.

Elle looked at her Mum and held the tears back as she forced a smile onto her face. "I'm really tired, Mum. I'm just going to go to sleep. We can talk tomorrow?" She walked over and kissed her Mum on the cheek before continuing out the door, making sure to pick up her trunk on the way upstairs to Mandy's bedroom.

* * *

><p><em>Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs,<em>

_and what's wrong with that?_

_I'd like to know,_

Elle had her headphones placed over her ears and her casette player turned up as loud as it could go. The whole world seemed silent. It felt like the only thing that was real was the song thrumming through her head. She was sitting on one of the two beds set in the bedroom trying to escape reality. Dave had come home late from work, and when Judy had questioned his whereabouts a fight had ensued. Elle had been downstairs when he had arrived, and had smelt the alcohol on his breath from a significant distance. When the fighting started Elle sought sanctuary in her step-sisters old bedroom.

She was watching the trees move in the brisk winter wind from the window. Snow had fallen the night before, but was almost all gone by now. She pulled the blanket closer over her shoulders, trying to capture some warmth under it.

The song made her think of Remus, she longed to be back at Hogwarts. _Anywhere is better than here_, She thought.

_Cause here I go again,_

_I love you, I love you,_

_I love you, I love you,_

As it grew in momentum, Elle started singing out loud with the song, she doubted Dave or her Mum could hear. The smile couldn't be wiped from her face while she remembered the conversations she and Remus had had; the serious ones, and the casual ones. All seemed important in their own rights. Then she remembered the fight they had gotten into. Nothing had been resolved, they hadn't talked in just under a week and it was the holidays so she would have to wait for a couple more weeks before they could finally talk again.

_Love doesn't come in a minute,_

_Sometimes it doesn't come at all,_

_I only know that when I'm in it,_

_It isn't silly, no, it isn't silly, love iisn't silly at all._

Rather than hearing someone behind her, she sensed that someone was there. Elle dragged her gaze away from the swaying trees and looked over her shoulder. Mandy was standing in the doorway, holding a suitcase behind her.

Her brown hair still held it's volume against the winter weather. She unbuttoned her cream trenchcoat with its oversized buttons and buckles to show a short high-waisted skirt with a blouse tucked into it. Elle had always admired her fashion style, she was always ahead of the curve, and could predict upcoming trends. If she wasn't studying to be a lawyer, Mandy should have a career in fashion.

Elle saw her mouth moving but couldn't hear the words. She pulled the headphones off, and suddenly she could hear the whisper of wind as it found cracks in windows, but what was really noticable was the silence coming from downstairs. Clearly, the married couple had stopped fighting.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I didn't know you could sing?" Mandy repeated.

Elle had never minded Mandy. She had no idea how a man as awful as Dave, could have a daughter as nice as Mandy. "Oh, I didn't realise I was singing loud, sorry. Need some help?" She asked, gesturing towards her bag.

Mandy shook her head. "No, I've got it, thanks though."

"Where's Dave and Mum?"

"They were fighting when I came in. Then Dad went out, probably to the pub, and Judy went to her room. Not the welcoming I was expecting..." She said trying to pull her suitcase over the carpet it was caught on.

Elle just smiled, she understood what Mandy meant, the welcoming she got was never the one she wanted. What she really wanted to move away from this house, to live with her Mum, to immerse herself in magic rather than shy away from it.

"How's university?" Elle asked trying to make conversation.

"It's great!" She said as she lifted her suitcase onto the spare bed and unzipped it. She started rummaging around her clothes, digging deep. "I bought you something... ah! Here it is!" She freed a jumper and handed it to Elle.

Holding it infront of her she recognised the blue Kingston University logo. Mandy was staying in one of the dorms on campus. She was taking a law degree, she had always wanted to become a lawyer, to follow in her Dads footsteps. Only she would be one of the good guys unlike her Dad.

"Thanks, Mandy! You shouldn't have!"

She shrugged it off. "It was nothing. How's school been?"

Mandy didn't know about Hogwarts, she didn't know about magic or witches or wizards. That was the way Dave had wanted it. Both Mandy and Jake believed that Elle attended Rochester Independent College and boarded there during the term. "Yeah, school's great. Rather boring." She said, even though she was thinking the complete opposite.

"I'm starving!" Mandy stated. "Want to go out for dinner?"

Elle glanced at the clock next to her bed. "It's 11!"

"And...?"

"And... no place will be open." Elle said struggling to come up with an excuse.

"And...?"

Elle smiled at her step-sisters forcefulness, but her eyes were alight with excitement. "And... what are we waiting for?" She laughed getting off the bed.

* * *

><p>The two girls were sat in a McDonalds booth eating their fries with their fingers. Laughing at jokes they shared between each other. Elle and Mandy had become increasingly close ever since Elle and Judy had moved in. Much closer than Elle was with Jake.<p>

Mandy reached over to grab the drink they were sharing and took a gulp. "Those boys are staring at you..." She teased, gesturing subtly behind Elle's shoulder.

She risked a fleeting glance behind her. A few boys were were sitting around a table eating their meals. They were attractive she had to admit, but they weren't Remus. "I... um... well I have a boyfriend already."

Her eyes lit up with this new information, she was more like a friend than a sister. "Do tell!"

"His name is Remus-"

"Remus?" Mandy interrupted. "That's an odd name."

"Yes. Can I continue?" She asked sarcastically.

Grabbing the box of fries, Mandy settled down to listen to the story. "Please do."

Elle worked on telling her step-sister a modified version, trying to carefully leave out all the magical parts. She hated having to lie to Mandy. Out of everyone, she was sure Mandy would be the one who would understand and keep the secret. But under Dave's strict instructions, Elle couldn't tell.

When she finally finished, she was parched and grabbed the drink back off of Mandy. "You two sound so cute! When do I get to meet him?" Mandy asked.

"Um.. never! Would you want your boyfriend to meet our disfynctional family?" She reached over for some more fries, but her hand came up empty, Mandy had eaten all the fries.

"Good point."

"I really like him and I don't want to screw this up, but I'm worried I already have. We kind of got into a fight last week and now I have to wait till we go back to school before I can see him again and work things out." Elle passed the drink back to Mandy.

"Please! If anyone were to screw up a relationship it would be me! Besides, I'm sure everything will work out fine and he'll come running back to you begging for your forgiveness!" She reasured her. "I'll be right back. Bathroom." Mandy rose, smoothing her skirt down. Even after wearing the same thing on her flight up to London she still managed to look amazing.

Elle was left sitting at the booth by herself thinking about Remus. She had completely forgotten about the boys sitting behind her until one of them plucked up the courage to introduce themselves.

He slid into Mandy's empty seat. "Hey, I'm Josh." He held his hand out over the table.

She didn't want to be rude, so she shook his hand. "Elle." She introduced herself with a smile.

"I couldn't help but notice a pretty girl sitting all by herself and decided she could use some company."

Elle blushed and gave a nervous giggle. "Actually my step-sister has just gone to the bathroom she should be any minute."

"Right. So what brings you out so late?" Josh asked, trying to make small talk.

"I have a boyfriend, Josh. Sorry." Elle thought it would be better to tell him outright so he knew.

This new piece of information didn't seem to affect him though. "Can't a guy talk to a girl without there being any secret agendas?"

"I guess a guy can.." Elle said with a smile.

After a few minutes of empty chat, Josh said, "here's my number, Elle. If this boyfriend of yours turns out to be a jerk, give me a call." He pushed a folded napkin across the table, before standing up and leaving without another word.

Elle opened the napkin up and saw a phone number clearly printed across one edge. She looked behind her, but the boys had all gone, leaving only their rubbish from their late night meal.

"What's that?" Mandy grabbed the napkin out of Elle's hands while she slid into her seat. "Oohh, you got his number! What would Remus think of that?"

Elle rolled her eyes and snatched the napkin back. "Ready to go home?"

"Are you kidding? The night's only just getting started!"

"16, remember?" Elle pointed out her age.

Mandy scrunched up her nose, even when doing that she still managed to look good. "Spoil my fun. Let's go home then!" She sighed.

Mandy got up from the table and started walking towards the door expecting Elle to follow. Elle hesitated for a second looking at the napkin in her hand trying to decide whether to keep it or leave it lying on the table. In the end, she got up and walked towards the door with the napkin firmly in her grasp.

At the door Mandy accidently brushed against Elle's arm. She knew something was wrong when Elle flinched away from her. Elle tried to make it seem casual and like she had intended on shying away.

"Is everything ok?" She asked concerned when they got into the car.

"Yeah, of course!" Elle tried to laugh it off.

"You've never been a good liar, Elle. Spill."

She pulled down her sleeves and showed Mandy the deep purple bruise. It covered the top of her arm and was four lines in a row. Mandy recognised them as fingers, and she knew at once what had happened.

* * *

><p>Tami moved her fork around her plate, pushing her food from side to side. She sat at a big wooden table able to seat eight. The silence hung in the air, thick like smog.<p>

"So Mark, where did you and Katie meet?" Tami tried to start a conversation, asking her older brother.

Her brother placed his knife and fork down, swallowing slowly before answering. "We met in Burkshire, where Katie lives."

Tami nodded and continued eating her food.

"Elbows off the table, Tami." Susan chided with a strained smile, before the table lapsed back into silence.

It had been very tense when Katie was introduced to Susan. Tami soon found out that Katie is, in fact, a muggle. Tami could see in her Mums eyes that she was not happy about this, but was holding it in so as not to be rude.

"You have a very nice home." Katie piped up.

"Thank you, Katie." Douglas said. "It's actually quite a fascinating story..." Both Mark and Tami rolled their eyes as their Dad started on about the history of the house. Even though Mark rolled his eyes at the story, he was happy that at least one of his parents was making an effort and involving Katie.

* * *

><p>"What were you thinking?" Susan hissed venemously at Mark. "She's a <em>muggle<em>. She doesn't belong here."

"Mum! Don't say that!"

Mark, Susan and Douglas had been in Tami's Dad's study for 15 minutes now yelling about Katie. Tami had been standing outside eavesdropping through the door, which hadn't been hard considering the volume at which they were speaking. Her parents disagreed with Katie being a muggle. It wasn't that they believed in marrying another family member to keep the pure blood line going, but they certainly didn't believe in marrying muggles. They expected their children to marry a witch or wizard with some magical lineage.

"What did you honestly expect me to say Mark? You know I dislike muggles. So what did you think? Did you think that if you sprung her on me I would welcome her into her family? That if I was in shock I would put aside my moral beliefs? Did you think that if I met her I would like her?" She said the last question in disbelief.

Tami was thinking about Riker and what her parents would think of him. He was a wizard which would make him slightly better than Katie, but he was also a muggle born so that's not much better. _ Then again he isn't with me so it doesn't matter._ She thought, trying to push all thoughts of Riker out of her head.

"Just give her a chance Mum, once you get to know her you'll see-"

"See how she's just using you because your magical. See how she won't do anything around the house she'll just get you to because you can wave your wand and it's done. Mark can't you see she isn't good for you?"

Tami heard a noise behind her, as she turned around she saw Kelly standing there with tears streaming down her face. Her hand covered her mouth which was open with shock.

"Can you please tell Mark that I said goodbye and that I'm sorry for causing this trouble?" She asked Tami through her tears.

Tami just nodded, she didn't know what else to say. She wanted to tell her to wait and talk to Mark herself. But she also wasn't sure how this screaming match would end.

Katie walked down the hallway and out of Tami's sight. Mark and Susan were oblivious to this and continued fighting.

"I love her, Mum. I. Love. Her. And there is absolutely nothing you can say that will make me change that."

Douglas spoke up for the first time. "Susan, maybe you should stop and cool down. It's obvious that this fighting is leading no where."

Mark stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He didn't even see Tami as he strode past her. Tami realised where he would be going and quickly followed behind him.

He had walked into his room and when he noticed Katie wasn't in there, he had come back out again, where he bumped straight into Tami.

"Mark!" She squeaked, and grabbed hold of his arm.

"Not now Tami, I have to find Katie. Have you seen her?" He asked, trying to pull out of her grip.

"Yes, and you're not going to find her." She said, somberly. "She heard what happened in the office. She told me to say goodbye and that she's sorry for causing all this."

"'Goodbye'?" Mark was speechless. "She just left?"

Tami nodded. "I'm sorry, Mark."

He raced away from Tami, she assumed he was going after Katie. _That boy really must love her._ She thought. _He's never run after anyone else before, and god only knows how many others Mum has chased away._

* * *

><p>Ding Dong.<p>

The doorbell rang throughout the house. Elle frowned, she wasn't expecting visitors nor were the rest of her family.

"Go get that." Dave grunted at her.

She sighed but did as she was told, standing up and making her way to the door. She was dressed in fluffy socks, jeans and a jumper, she had no make up on and her hair had been left untamed. Elle gasped when she opened the door, surprised to see Remus Lupin staring at her.

"Remus?" She asked, still in shock.

"Hey, I'm sorry this is so unexpected. I just – I had to talk to you." His light brown eyes looked into hers pleading with her.

The door slamed in his face. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the closed wooden door. Elle was stood on the other side with her mouth wide open. _What's he doing here!_ Her thoughts screamed. _Did he come to apologise? Why is he here?_

"Who was that?" Dave yelled from the living room.

"No one!" Elle called back. Then it struck her that she had just closed the door on him with no explanation. "I'm going to go for a walk, I'll be back later!" She hastily pulled on some boots, threw on a coat and wrapped a scarf around her neck, before flying out of the door.

She raced down the path and out of her gate looking left and right. "Remus!" She yelled at his disappearing figure. His head was cast down, watching his feet scuff the ground. "Remus! Wait!"

He finally stopped, hearing her voice, and turned around. "Elle?" He was confused at why she followed him out after she had just slammed the door in his face.

"I'm sorry," She raced up to him, "about shutting the door, I was just... surprised. What are you doing here?"

"I miss you. I hate fighting with you. I don't want to fight with you Elle, I want to be with you. What happened between us, I still don't understand?"

She shook her head. "You keep sneaking out with other girls and you expect me to just be with you again?"

"Other girls? What other girls?" Now he was even more confused. Remus had no idea what Elle was talking about.

"Those... other... girls...?" She trailed off, realising, only now, that she was probably wrong.

Remus started to laugh. He turned around and tugged on Elle's arm, leading her further down the street. She followed, bewildered. "You think I was sneaking off to see other girls?" He chortled.

"Yes." Elle said indignintly. "Would you please stop laughing at me!" She added, embarrased.

"Sorry, sorry!" He gasped between laughs. "That's – well that's not why I was sneaking out." He took a deep breath, preparing to tell her his story. "Have you noticed how I only sneak out during a full moon? And how I look pretty knackered the next day? Or how I like my meat raw?" The laughter in his voice had gone completely. He was serious now, worrying about what Elle's response to the truth might me.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to tell you the truth. I'm trying to say that while I wasn't sneaking out with other girls, I was perhaps, in some way, doing something much worse. I'm trying to tell you that I'm..." He paused, trying to find the courage to say that one small word. "A werewolf." He blurted it out.

Elle looked into his face, hiding her gasp. Of all the possible reasons he could have for sneaking out this had never made it onto her list. She tried to find words in her mouth to speak but none came out. Remus was searching her face trying to find the acceptance he needed. But she knew as his eyes frantically moved over her face that he couldn't find it.

"A werewolf?" She finally said.

He nodded, then turned his head to the ground, looking ashamed. Elle realised what her face must look like. She wasn't horrified at his problem, it just took some time to register, for her to be able to understand.

"Hey." Elle whispered softly. She put a hand under his chin and lifted his head so he was looking at her. "It's ok, you know. It's not that big of a deal."

"Elle, we didn't talk to each other for a week because you thought I was cheating on you, yet when you find out I'm a monster it's ok?"

"You're not a monster." She insisted. "You were unwillingly infected. You never wanted this, and there's nothing you can do to change it. I'm sorry that I yelled at you when I thought you were seeing other people..."

"I forgive you. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, about my... um... disease."

"I forgive you." She said, repeating Remus. "Wanna go for a walk." She said gesturing down the path.

Instead of responding, Remus stopped Elle and put his hands around her face. Up this close she could see the faint scars that ran across his face. She had noticed them before, but hadn't realised what they were from. He pulled her face close to his and kissed her softly on the lips. Encouraged that she didn't pull away, he deepend the kiss.


	11. Party

_Hey there, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_This is the second part to the students holidays! You get to see some of Lilys life and also some of Sams!_

_We have reached the middle of this fic. I have planned to do 22 chapters and this here is the middle, if my maths is correct. Which I'm pretty sure it is, that wasn't very difficult maths._

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed, story alerted and favourited this fic that means a lot to me! And even if you're just reading this thank you so much!_

_There are two songs in this chapter: Hey Jude and Blackbird by the Beatles (try to remember that this is supposed to be 1977 which is why they are using LP's and casette players. And also why they are seeing Star Wars IV the first Star Wars to come out). At the end of this chapter someone (I don't want to give away too much) is playing the piano, I was listening to River Flows In You by Yiruma. But bear in mind the person playing this would be playing a VERY basic version of this._

_Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter._

_The next one hasn't been written and so won't be up as fast as this one was, though one (me) can always hope._

_Please, please, please review! It really does help and make me feel good :D_

_Thank you!_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer**: Sadly, I still don't own Harry Potter.)_

* * *

><p>Lilys face lit up as she opened the door. She stared in awe at her boyfriend; James was wearing jeans and a fitted t-shirt but still managed to look dashing. She grinned at him as he ruffled his hair, nervous by her scrutiny. Before even getting a greeting in, she glomped him. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and squeezing. It had only been a week, but not seeing him everyday made it seem like so much longer.<p>

He laughed at her eagerness. "Hey!" He whispered roughly into her ear, enveloping her too; bending down to wrap his strong arms around her waist.

"Hi!" She breathed, stepping away from him. "Come in."

Lily moved to the side and let James into the house. This was the first time he had been into her house and only the second into a muggles house. He had been to Remus' but only a couple of times, his friend didn't really like having people over for some reason. But Lily's house was a lot different. Where Remus' was mis-matched, Lily's was neat. Ornaments were placed specifically on shelves not cluttered, a prominent colour theme ran throughout the living room and hall that James could see.

"This is it!" She said motioning to her living room. "This is where I live." She watched James carefully as he looked around, wondering how different it was from his own.

Glancing more carefully at some of the objects he recognised some as magical ones, figuring they were ones Lily had brought home. But none of them were spectacularly odd as other muggles would have begun to question them.

"I'll give you a grand tour!" She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the living room which was situated at the front of the house. The big bay window over looked the front lawn and the street from where James had just come. Continuing down the hallway she pulled him into the room at the back. "This is the kitchen and dining room." Coming out of that room she pointed at a closed door "Through that door is my parents bedroom. And up the stairs is another bathroom, Petunias room and my room." She finished at the foot of the stairs.

"Don't you want me to see your room?" He smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "You can see it if you want... but be warned, I haven't cleaned it in awhile so... it could be a little messy."

"I have to share a dorm with Sirius. I think I'm used to messy." He joked, but Lily knew he was probably being serious.

She took him up the stairs and opened a plain white door. She stepped aside and let James enter first. Her room was pretty small and didn't have much furniture in it other than the basics. Her walls were painted white, and her chest of drawers was a soft light wood. Her bed spread was a light green colour which seemed to pop up in other objects around her room.

"Nice, I like it." He said. "It's very... you." He smiled at her, before turning around and jumping on the bed.

"Hey! I just made that!" She scolded him while laughing which ruined the intended affect.

He grinned mischeviously. "Sorry!" He said, getting back up and wandering over to her desk. Bits of parchment lay scattered over it. He noticed that most of them were letters written by himself.

"Want to see a movie?" Lily asked him before he could go through everything in her room.

"A what?" He put the letter back on the desk and turned around.

_He's such a wizard._ She thought, snickering at him. "A movie. It's like a moving picture, but it tells a story..." She tried her best to explain but only received a blank stare. "Don't worry, just trust me."

"Ok." He shrugged his shoulders and followed her out of her room and down the stairs.

Lily grabbed a jacket off the coat hook that hung next to her door, before leading James outside. She locked the door behind them. He took the coat out of her hands and held it open behind her, helping her into it.

She smiled at him before grabing his hand and starting to walk down the street. "I think we should see Star Wars."

"What's a 'star wars'?" He asked.

"I don't really know myself but it's supposed to be really good. The special effects are supposed to be amazing!" Her green eyes shined as she got excited about the movie. James still had no idea what she was talking about but smiled and nodded, pretending he knew.

Lily talked as they walked down street after street, she seemed to know where she was going so James let her lead the way. Growing up with magical parents he had never experienced muggle life, so even just walking down the street seemed odd. Although there had been times when he and Sirius went shopping amongst the muggles, James figured this was because Sirius enjoyed making his parents angry.

She snuggled up next to him when she had run out of things to say. It didn't matter that the conversation had come to an end, the silence between them was comfortable. James lifted the hand that Lily was holding onto and swung it around so he was resting his arm on her shoulder, and he pulled her in tighter.

Lily smiled up at him. "I'm glad you came over today." She said quietly.

"Me too." He whispered before kissing the top of her head gently.

* * *

><p>"You can stay for dinner if you want?" Lily said once they had gotten home from the movies. "I mean my parents aren't here, so I'll have to cook. It won't be good, I can promise you that. But if you want to..." She let her question trail off.<p>

"I'd love to stay." He had been around at Lilys for the better part of that day.

They were sitting on the couch together. Lily was snuggled into his chest while he had his arms wrapped around her. "Ok." She smiled, and then wriggled out from under his arms rather unwillingly.

"Where are you going?" He pouted.

"I'm putting the fire on, it's getting cold." She picked up a couple of pieces of wood and hauled them into the fire place. Placing small bits of paper around the wood she struck a match and lit certain points of the paper. She sat on the ground and watched while the wood errupted into orange flames. Lily could already feel the heat emitting and she raised her hands to it.

"Where are your parents?" James asked, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Oh them and Petunia are out at a play or a ballet or a musical or some such." She said shrugging. "Come on, lets go make dinner." She suggested, standing up and walking through to the kitchen with James followed closely behind.

Lily started pulling out ingredients from cupboards while James stood behind her and watched. "You have to help." She insisted.

"Are you kidding? I can't cook!"

"Yes you can! It's easy! I'll show you what to do! Catch!" She yelled, throwing an onion at him. His impressive Quidditch skills meant that he caught the onion before it dropped to the floor. "That's an onion." She said sarcastically. "Here's a chopping board and knife. Cut it into little chunks, like so." She started it off for him.

James took the knife off her and continued going. At home his Mum did all the cooking and she would always use magic, he just ate and appreciated it. His eyes started to sting after a couple of seconds, raising his hand he rubbed his eye, the pain only increased.

Lily, who had turned her back for a minute, realised what had happened and quickly reached for his hand and forced it away from his face. "Stop!" She said. "You're only going to make it worse."

His eyes were now streaming relentlessly. "My eye hurts." He stated.

"Yeah I bet it does. You just rubbed onion juice all over it!" She grabbed a table cloth and ran it under the cool tap. After squeezing the excess water out, she dabbed gently on his eye. He sighed when the coolness touched his iritated eye. "Feeling better?" She asked.

"Loads." He grinned sheepishly.

Bringing the cloth down she looked up into his red eyes and rubbed away the water from the bottom of them. "How about I finish the onions. Here," She handed him a bottle of oil, "put two tablespoons into the pan on the stove."

"What are we making?"

"Fried rice." Lily said. "'Cause it's easy." She had finished cutting up the onions with only a few tears spilled. She could see that James' eyes were still red and raw so she handed him the teatowel. "Why don't you sit down. I've got this."

He gratefully accepted. She knew she shouldn't have made him cook if he wasn't used to it. _But you have to learn somehow._ She thought.

The pan sizzeled as she put the rice in. Stirring the egg, onion and rice together she made sure everything was warm. Before serving it on the two plates she had gotten out earlier. Picking up some cutlery and the plates Lily walked into the dining room, placing everything on the table. James seemed to have desserted the cool cloth and was inspecting her Dad's record collection.

When he noticed Lily had come up behind him, he pointed and asked, "what are they?"

"Records." She answered. "They play music." She grabbed her favourite one and pulled it out of its case.

"The Beatles?" James asked.

"You've really never heard of them?" Lily asked incrediously.

James just shook his head. Lily walked over to the player they had set up next to it. She raised the arm and placed the LP record into the slot before replacing it. The record crackled for a few moments at the beginning and then the opening bars to a song started to play.

"It's one of my favourite songs." She said, then led James over to their cooling food and took a seat next to him.

_Hey Jude,_

_Don't make it bad,_

_Take a sad song,_

_And make it better,_

_Remember, to let her into your heart,_

_Then you can start to make it better._

Lily started swaying in her chair while she was eating. She closed her eyes and let the lyrics reach out to her. James had never heard music like this; his parents didn't listen to music so neither did he. He vaguely remembered Sirius talking about the Beatles though. Sirius would do anything that would annoy his parents and James figured listening to muggle music was probably going to work.

James listened to Lily singing in between mouthfulls. Her voice was of a higher register to theirs and so she harmonised with them on some notes. James liked the sound, this was the first time he had heard Lily sing, and didn't want her to end.

The song reached it's peak and the background music grew loud.

_Na, na, na, na na na,_

_na na na,_

_Hey Jude._

James was still mesmerised by Lily's singing. Their food and been eaten and forgotten about as the song took them both to different places. She opened her eyes. "It gets a bit repetitive." She said, sheepishly grinning.

"I like it." James said still gazing at her.

"Same." She blushed before standing up quickly. "There's this other one by them which is amazing. These are all like ten years old, but I think they're classics. So does my Dad he can't stop listening to them." She babbled on. "Ah here!" She pulled out another record and replaced the one they were currently listening to.

"This is, without a doubt, my most absolute favourite song." She said turning back to James.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night,_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly,_

_All your life,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise._

James stood up and put his arms around Lily's waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to reach. They swayed in small circles gazing into each others eyes, both of them finding meaning in the lyrics.

The song had a sad beat, but James felt happy when he danced with Lily. To him the lyrics were talking about freedom and strength which he felt he had with Lily. Sometimes he felt pressured by his parents to get good grades and with-hold the Potter name. Although they never said that in such words, he felt like that's what they wanted. When he was with Lily though he felt like he could just be himself around her. That she never expected him to change for her, that she accepted him.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night,_

_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see,_

_All your life,_

_you were only waiting for this moment to be free._

Lily felt safe when she was in James' strong arms. Having to deal with the constant fear of Deatheaters and You-Know-Who growing stronger, made her tired. But here, in this moment, she felt like nothing could touch her, like nothing could go wrong. She knew that having to deal with magic wasn't always easy for her parents and she was very appreciative that they still cared for her, she knew some who were less fortunate. But she felt like she had to make up for this by doing well and school and the pressure of gaining high levels was straining her.

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise._

The song drifted to an end. James and Lily moved slowed down, and smiled at each other. "I have to get home." James whispered before sighing.

"I'll walk you out." Lily said, but neither of them moved.

James leaned down slowly, pressing his lips onto Lily's. She deepened the kiss, feeling the warmth of him on her made her smile. When they broke apart, James kissed her gently on the nose before he stepped back.

"I really have to go..." He said reluctantly.

Lily walked him to the door. When she opened it for him, she shivered. The day had turned to night, and with that the sun had gone down, leaving the earth cold. He leaned down for one last sweet kiss, as he pulled away he groaned.

"What?" Lily smiled at him.

"You're irresistable, and I have to wait to see you again till we're back at school."

"That's only a week away!"

"A week's too long." He moaned.

"I'll miss you." Lily said quietly, resting her head on the door frame.

"Miss you too." He whispered and then turned away into the night. Lily watched as he walked down her path to the gate. She watched until he disappeared into the darkness, until she could no longer see him anymore. Then she closed the door and returned to the kitchen so she could clean up the mess they had made.

* * *

><p>"Samuel!" Torvald Ludstrum, Sam's Dad, called from behind him.<p>

Sam had been sitting on the window ledge reading a book in the manors vast library. He had been distracted by the gently swaying trees outside, consumed in his own thoughts.

Trovald wasn't Sam's biological Father, which is the reason why they had different last names. Voldemort had found Sam in an orphanage when he was a little kid. Sam was born to two muggle parents who had never believed in magic. When he was four years old he started to do unexplainable things like making inanimate objects move. This scared his non-believing parents; they thought they had raised a demon baby. Late one night they wrapped Sam in warm blankets and placed him in the car seat they had bought for him and left him in front of an old orphanage.

That orphanage is were Sam spent the next two years of his life, waiting for a family to choose to take him home with them. His wish was granted when a young 20-something man had shown up. He had dark hair and a strange aura. He held himself with such confidence that Sam automatically admired him. The man introduced himself to one of the caregivers as Tom, but made Sam refer to him as Sir.

Tom explained to Sam about magic and assured him that his friend, Torvald, would adopt him. A few days later the man, Torvald, did come and visit Sam and then set about completing the paperwork that would legally make Sam his.

One month later Sam went home with Torvald were he spent the next ten years of his life. He was taught by Tom, who forced Sam to call him My Lord, and Torvald. They taught Sam spells and charms well beyond his years, that he completed easily. Once he had mastered those skills and Tom trusted him as much as he could trust another, they sent Sam to Hogwarts armed with a fake last name, knowledge and the ability to blend in.

"The Dark Lord is here. Come." Trovald ordered Sam to follow after him, snapping him out of his reverie. Sam was led downstairs to the dining area where the man he had met all those years ago was sat at the head of the table.

"My Lord." Sam greated him, bowing his head out of respect.

Tom hadn't changed much, although his face had aged, probably with the stress of the uprising he was leading. Sam was merely a tool but he knew it. "How's school Samuel?" He drawled.

"Very well, My Lord." He answered, taking a seat. "I have found a number of possible future Death Eaters, that may be wiling to join your forces."

Tom let out a low chuckle, he liked how Sam knew him well and knew that all he really wanted to hear was how his 'mission' was going. "Good. Very good. You have proven useful to me, Samuel, well done. Who are these potential Death Eaters?"

"Severus Snape, Mulciber and Averys' sons, the Prisa twins." Sam rattled off some names of students he had befriended. It didn't bother him in the slightest that he was carving the path that their lives will now follow.

Tom nodded slowly as he thought over the names given to him. "Excellent." The word hissed out of his mouth. "I have work to attend to." He said before abrubtly standing up and leaving the manor without so much as a goodbye.

Trovald walked up behind Sam and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good job, Samuel, he seemed pleased."

"Thank you, Father. But I fear there will be hard work ahead of me. Those boys are just that, boys. They aren't ready to become Death Eaters."

"You have two years to turn them into Death Eaters. You will do me proud, I'm sure of it." Trovald tightened his grip on Sam's shoulder. "And you will do the Dark Lord proud too. That _is_ why I agreed to have you."

Trovald had openly admitted to Sam on countless occasions that he was only here because of Voldemort. That, had the Dark Lord not forced him to take Sam in, then he would not have done so.

"Yes, Father."

"Time for training." Trovald gripped Sam's arm tightly and pulled into another room of the house.

The room was a big square with absolutely nothing in it, this was where Sam would practise dueling. Trovald entered the room first and pulled out his long black wand. With a swift flick, he fired a spell at Sam without muttering a word. He had been prepared and used a simple protection spell.

This lasted for awhile the two of them sending spell after spell towards the other. None did any serious harm, either because of the nature of the spell or because they were too quick at defensive spells. Trovald was too quick for Sam on one occasion, and a small cut appeared on his check. Drops of blood raced down his flushed check.

He raised a hand to it, and when he pulled it away he noticed the blood. It wasn't the first time that his Father had drawn blood, but he still fought back with a new found anger. His jaw was taunt as he ignored the mild stinging coming from the cut.

* * *

><p>"Mum, we're off to Tami's now." Lily stood in the hallway of her house with a small bag packed till it was over flowing. She was to be staying over there for the next two nights along with Elle. But because Dave refused to acknowledge Elle was a witch she had come to Lily's to go over.<p>

Tami's Dad had been over earlier that week and given Lily a portkey disguised as a hairbrush, which was due to be leaving any minute now.

"Oh Sweetheart, I'm going to miss you!" Her Mum came running in from the kitchen, and planted a big kiss on her forhead.

"We're only going for two nights!" She tried to reassure her.

"But you're going back to Hogwarts in..." She calculated the days. "Two days."

It was a Friday and on the Sunday all of the students would be boarding the Hogwarts Express for school to begin on the Monday. Lily couldn't believe that two weeks had nearly been and gone already, not much longer until she had to return back to Hogwarts.

"I'll be back on the Sunday morning to see you and finish packing my trunk!" Lily said.

Her Mum gave both her and Elle a quick hug before they grasped the hairbrush and felt the dizzying sensation of the portkeys magic. They landed roughly on Tami's lawn, falling over on impact. They gazed up at her huge mansion; there was a reason most of their slumber parties were held at Tami's.

Tami rushed out of the house as fast as her heels would allow. Pausing at the top of the steps she waited for her friends to reach her. When they did they were pulled into a giant bear hug together. All of them teetered sideways, loosing their balance, but they laughed gleefully anyway. Tami ushered the two of them inside where they were led to her bedroom.

They quickly set up blankets and mattresses for them to sleep on that night before collapsing on them to gossip.

"I still feel bad about lying to my parents." Lily sighed.

Tami rolled her eyes. "Tomorrow night you're going to forget _all _about them." Her eyes glistened with excitement.

Tomorrow night James was throwing a party at his place. Most of Gryffindor sixth year had been invited along with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw but no Slytherin students would be coming. Of course a lot had declined but also a lot had accepted, on the acceptance list was Lily, Elle and Tami. Elle had her hesitations at first, as she knew Remus would be there, but when they made up she had agreed to go eagerly. Lily also had hesitations, she was lying to her parents. She told them that she was staying at Tami's for two nights, when in fact she was staying at James' for the second. Elle and Tami would be staying with her but that wouldn't have made her parents agree to staying at her boyfriends house and so she had to lie.

The girls had a lot to catch up on; Tami still hadn't heard from Riker, James and Lily had their muggle date, Remus and Elle were back together and Tami's brother was engaged to a muggle. They lounged on their make shift beds and ate all kinds of junk food they could get their hands on, while they discussed such matters.

"Have you heard from Mark yet?" Lily asked.

"He sent us a message that basically said he loved Katie and was going to be with her no matter what. He said that if we couldn't accept her then he didn't want us as his family."

Lilys mouth opened wide. "He can't do that! You did nothing wrong!"

"I know but my Mum did. She pretty much insulted Katie to her face."

Elle and Lily soothed their friend. "Mark will come back. Your Mum will apologise, don't worry."

"Anyway, what are we going to wear tomorrow?" Tami changed the subject, bringing up what she thought was a big problem.

Lily walked over to her bag and pulled out some jeans and a cute t-shirt. "I was just going to wear this..." She trailed off when she saw Tami shaking her head.

"Well that won't do. It's ok, I have something that will be perfect." She walked over to her massive closet and picked out a beige dress. Holding it up, Lily could see how short the dress was. She thrust it into Lily's hand and pushed her friend towards the ensuite bathroom.

"That looked really pretty!" Elle piped up as Lily got changed. "I think it will suit her."

Lily hesitantly peeked her head around the side of the door.

"Come out!" Her friends urged.

Taking a deep breath she walked out of the bathroom, tugging at the bottom of the dress. It was beige and had long sleeves but was very short. It looked like a long jumper with an oversized collar. Tami stood up and began styling her dress, she shifted the collar to the side so it fell off her right shoulder. The sleeves hung loose around her wrists and there was a bold plaited knitted pattern down the middle.

"There." Tami said, backing away to admire her work. "Now you look fantastic!"

"You look so pretty!" Elle gushed.

Tami dug through the bottom of her closet and pulled out a pair of nude heels. Lily held them up, staring with wide eyes. "These are like five inches, Tami! I can't walk in these!"

"Try them on! They'll make your legs look great!"

Lily sat on the bed to put them on, standing up she was unstable on her feet, but had to agree with Tami. Her legs looked so much longer, like they could continue forever.

"James won't be able to keep his eyes off of you." Elle assured her, and Tami nodded in agreement.

"Now for what you're going to wear." Tami rounded on Elle. The rest of the evening was filled with laughter and gossip. When their outfits were finally planned they could rest peacefully, but they didn't fall asleep till the early hours of the morning.

* * *

><p>"Just put it on, Elle!" Tami urged her. They had three hours until they were going to James' for the party. Tami and Lily were already dressed but Elle was yet to be convinced that the dress she was meant to wear was perfect.<p>

She had been locked in the bathroom for ten minutes. She finally opened the door slowly, revealing her dress to her friends. Elle had on a short peach colour dress, the bottom of it frilled into ruffles, with only one strap holding it up. She wore black heels on her feet, that complimented her black hair.

"Remus is going to love you!" Tami said, rushing to give her friend a hug. They all helped do each others hair and make up until they were looking gorgeous.

James had the flu network set up at his house and so guests had been arriving for awhile now. He sent out the invitations via owl and told people to start arriving from eight onwards. It was nine and Lily hadn't showed up yet, she was who he had been most anxious to see. There were already a large number of guests dancing and drinking in his living room spreading down to the kitchen. Even though it wasn't a particularly warm night, he had the french doors open that led to his back porch. He mingled with guests, but made sure he always stayed close to the fire place, keeping one eye on it incase she were to show up.

"James! We need more drinks!" Sirius interrupted him. James sighed and made his way through to the kitchen. He didn't know why Sirius couldn't do it himself, he had been living there since the start of the year.

Three girls stepped out of the fire place one by one, first Tami, then Elle and lastly Lily. Everybody near enough couldn't help but stare at the girls who were obviously dressed to impress. They quickly dusted off any soot that may have clung to their dresses before making a beeline towards the kitchen for drinks.

Lily automatically noticed James standing with his back to her. She walked up behind him and covered his eyes. "Guess who?" She whispered in his ear.

He grinned and turned around, tugging away her hands so he could pull her into a tight hug and give her a kiss. "Why hello there, I was beginning to think you were never going to show up." He said when they broke apart.

"Fashionably late, Sweetie." Tami had been standing close enough to hear as she got herself a drink.

"Late's for sure." He muttered quietly to himself.

Lily heard him but chose to ignore his comment and smiled. She had her arms around his waist and she tightened her grip, it hadn't been very long but the heels were hurting her feet already.

Sirius came bounding into the room with a huge grin on his face. "Lils!" He yelled, pulliing Lily into a huge hug, tugging her away from James. He was drunk on the excitement of the party... and probably a little on the punch which Lily suspected was spiked.

"Hey Sirius!" She laughed when he finally let go of her.

"Remus is outside, if you wanted to know." He nodded towards the french doors talking to Elle.

"Thank you." She said, picking up her drink and making her way outside.

James led Lily away from the kitchen taking her on a tour of his house. He showed her around all of the rooms downstairs before taking her upstairs. "Through there is the guest room, which is now Sirius' room." He gestured to a closed door. "Probably don't want to go in there, the mess might scare you." He joked. "This is my room." He said stopping at a closed door, ruffling his hair.

Lily went in first, closely followed by James. She was surprised at how neat his room actually was, especially compared to his appearance. He spent so long making sure his hair looked messy enough when in fact he was generally quite a neat person. The only part of the room that seemed unkept was the desk which held pieces of parchment on it. When she walked over to investigate she noticed it was very similar to hers; holding letters from herself that had been exchanged with James.

"They're all from you." He said quietly pointing at the parchment.

"I noticed." She said with a smile.

"Well that's my house." He spoke loudly compared to the silence they had just been in. "Want to head back down to the party?"

* * *

><p>The dim lighting cast silouhettes of the guests on the wall. Tami was left wandering through the house on her own. Both her friends had gone off with their boyfriends leaving her by herself. She stopped ocassionally and talked to friends of hers before moving down to find someone else. She was surrounded by people yet she still felt alone.<p>

She made her way back to the kitchen were the music was quieter. Most of the dancing was taking place in the living room. "Tami!" A slurred voice spoke from behind her.

Turning around she saw Riker standing with a drink in his hand and a goofy look on his face. Looking at him made her angry and upset. On the one hand she wanted to cry because he hadn't made up his mind, and on the other she wanted to punch him for making her wait so long.

"I'm sorry that I'm such a dick." He had trouble getting the words out. "You and Kelly are both so amazing and funny and hot and I really really like you both."

Tami raised her eyebrows, he definitely wasn't gaining points with her at the moment. "You're drunk, Riker. Go home." She turned her back on him. Trying to be anywhere he wasn't.

"No! Please!" He yelled and stumbled forward. "Listen to me!"

Tami could feel the people turning to look at the commotion. Sighing she grabbed Rikers hand and led him outside. The brisk evening wind nipped at her bare arms. She hoped that the cold breeze would help clear Rikers brain. Tami unwillingly shivered, tucking her arms together.

"Here," Riker said taking his jumper off. "Take this."

"Thanks." She muttered, pulling it gently over her head, careful not to mess up her make up. "What do you want, Riker?" She asked dejectedly.

"I choose you, Baby." He said stumbling over to Tami. He raised his hand and gently carressed her check.

She shoved it down looking disgusted. "You _choose_ me, after weeks of you ignoring me. You finally _choose_ me? Well maybe I don't choose you."

"Tami!" He whined. "Don't be like that!"

"If you want to be with me then you'll talk to me when you sober up." Tami said before stalking off back into the house. Leaving Riker standing by himself, trying to think over everything he said to make Tami annoyed.

* * *

><p>The melodic piano whispered into her dreams. Lily was lying on a bed with Tami and Elle, they were all wearing their dresses from last night. She had woken to the soft sound of a piano. The beautiful tune had echoed in her dream and awoken her. She woke up disorrientated; rubbing her head she remembered how much she had had to drink last night.<p>

Careful not to move the others Lily rolled off of the bed and crept down the stairs. She searched for the person who was playing the piano. Following the ever increasing volume of the song being played. She walked into the living room and found the person playing the piano.

Even though he had his back turned towards the door, Lily could tell who it was. He had long black hair that looked well cared for. He had gotten changed out of the clothes he was wearing last night though. She stood at the doorway and listened for a little longer.

"I didn't know you could play the piano?" Lily spoke over the piano even though she hadn't wanted to interrupt the sound.

Immediately Sirius stopped playing and turned around. "Oh, I didn't realise anybody else was awake. Sorry."

"No! Don't stop playing, you're really good." Lily was still in her dress from last night but that was all. At some point she had kicked her shoes off and didn't know where they were. She shivered against the cool morning air before grabbing a throw off of the couch next to her and wrapping it around her shoulders. Then she walked over and took a seat on the stool next to Sirius. When he didn't say anything Lily continued. "Where did you learn to play?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "We have a piano at home, but no one ever uses it. Playing it seemed to annoy my family so I taught myself." He placed his long fingers gently on the keys and slowly began playing the same tune as earlier.

Lily listened for a few more minutes before curiosity got the better of her. "Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"Go ahead." He nodded but continued playing.

"Why do you do things your family don't approve of?" She asked cautiously, watching his face.

He stopped playing and looked down at the keys with a sad smile on his face. "_I'm_ something that my family don't approve of." He sighed and looked up at Lily. "I don't want them to approve of me if that means that I have to be in Slytherin. I don't want them to approve of me if that means that I can't be friends with James and Remus and Peter. I don't want them to approve of me if that means I can't be me."

Lily's eyes glistened with tears as she listened to him. She leaned over to the side and gave him a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. She knew that he didn't need the hug as much as she did. Sirius had come to terms with his family situation a long time ago, Lily was only just learning about it. But Sirius wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned his cheek on the top of her head. They sat like that for a long time, staring at the piano that was in front of them.

"Not interrupting, am I?" James said clearing his throat from behind them.

They both turned around, jumping apart quickly. "Not at all, Prongs." Sirius said smiling, he ducked into the kitchen, leaving his friends alone.

Lily stood up and went to hug her boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around her. "Mornin'." He said sleepily, resting his chin on the top of her head, emphasising the height difference between the two of them. "How'd you sleep?" He asked when they pulled apart.

"Good." She said grasping his hand. "You?"

"Same. Want some breakfast?" He asked pulling her away. They went into the kitchen were Sirius had disappeared to moments earlier. "Cereal?" He asked pulling out a box of Coco Pops.

Lily smiled when she saw it. "Yum!" Sirius was already sitting at the breakfast counter with a bowl of Coco Pops in front of him.

She took a seat next to Sirius and pulled her knotted hair back from her face, into a scruffy bun, leaving a few strands to frame her face. Lily spooned Coco Pops into her mouth when James had finished getting them ready.

Elle and Tami staggered around the corners looking a little worse for wear. "Good morning!" Lily said a little louder than needed. They both cringed away from her chiperness.

"What's for breakfast?" Tami demanded.

"Coco Pops." She said, holding her bowl in the air and receiving blank looks from the pure blood witch. "It's chocolatey!" Lily reassured her.

"Well in that case, give me some!" Everyone laughed at Tami's eagerness. Moments later Remus and Peter also turned up in the kitchen. The six of them had stayed at James' last night after the party, sleeping on any surface that was comfortable enough. They ate their breakfast, chatting amicably between all of them.

"It's 11 already. My Parents are going to be wondering where I am!" Lily said as she worriedly started cleaning away her breakfast.

"Leave it." James said taking her empty bowl from her hands. "I've got it."

"Thanks." She reached up on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Ugh, get a room!" Tami yelled at her two friends.

James' smile made Lily apprehensive. "Good point. Let's go upstairs." He said winking at Lily. Everyone laughed at the look of complete shock on her face.

"Not wanting to rush anyone but Lily's right. I have to get home too." Elle spoke up.

James took Lily by the hand, leading her and the others towards the fireplace. They turned to each other and said their goodbyes, as did everyone else. They would see each other later that day on the train back to Hogwarts but for James that felt like forever.


	12. Prefects Patrol

_Hey there, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic._

_If you have managed to stick with this fic thank you so much! And if you are new and just reading it – hey there! Welcome, hope you enjoy :D_

_Usually I'll respond to any reviews privately (if you have an account) but one person 'Hi' reviewed anonymously and so I thought I would take this chance to answer you: Thank you so much for reading! I love any and everybody who takes the time out of their day to read this story! :D Unfortunately I don't have a specific updating rule, kind of just write when I have a spare chance and post a new chapter when I feel like it's ready... That could be days after the next one, that could be weeks after the next one there is really no rhyme or reason to my posting. Which might annoy some and so I apologise for that! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter and keep reading though! :)_

_Anyway, this chapter is their first couple of days back after the holidays. It all starts to unravel after this... *sigh* :P_

_Thank you for sticking with this story for so long, hope this lives up to expectations._

_Please read and review :D_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter is still not mine... however I did get a Pottermore account! Who else did?)_

* * *

><p>The library was a big room, filled with what seemed like an unlimited supply of books. Shelves of them reached all the way up to the two story ceiling, tables for studing seemed cramed into the available floor space. Behind closed and locked doors was the restrictated section, but Lily had never been inside of there. She would have expected that the Marauders had been in there previously, except that it was a library and she couldn't see a reason for them to go sleuthing in there.<p>

Lily found her friend sitting at one of the countless desks. He was writing on a piece of parchment, Lily could see his leg under the table jittering like he was unable to control it.

"Remus, I'm glad I found you, we're patrolling tonight." She said, taking a seat opposite him. "Are you ok?" She noticed that his forhead had a fresh sheen of sweat on it, even though the day wasn't particularly cold.

He smiled at the red haired girl. "I'm fine, but I can't come with you tonight, sorry. It's, um, you know."

"Your furry problem?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." He smiled, pleased that she understood and knew his condition now so he didn't have to explain. It was times like this that he was happy with his decision to tell her the truth. Although he didn't really have a choice as she had figured it out herself.

"That's ok, I'll see if someone else is free."

Remus was even more pleased with his decision now. Lily wasn't pressing the issue, she wasn't making a big deal, instead she was acting like it wasn't a problem. It reminded him of his other friends, the marauders, they didn't judge him, they helped him.

"Hope everything goes ok!" She called out before leaving him to his work.

* * *

><p>"Where have you been?" James asked as Lily took a seat next to him. They were in Charms class, however Lily had arrived later than usual. It was often expected that she would come to class before they were needed. She was always ahead of teachers and quite often the students too, only Professor Mcgonagall in Transfiguration seemed to beat her to class.<p>

"Sorry." Lily panted, out of breath like she had just run to class. "I was _trying_ to find Liz, to get someone to patrol with me." She said, referring to Lizzie, the Gryffindor head prefect. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't find Lizie and on such short notice, Lily questioned whether anyone would be able to fill in. Especially on the first day of school.

"Isn't Remus doing it?" James whispered as the Professor walked into the classroom expecting silence. "I can do it with you if you need someone?"

"Not tonight he isn't. Full moon. Which means you can't either. Don't you do something to help Remus?" She whispered back, gaining a glare from the teacher. Lily was still a little foggy on the details. She didn't know what exactly happened every month with the four of them, but assumed that they were together. She decided that when they were ready she would know.

"I guess I can not go this one time..." James trailed off.

She could see the indecision in his face and hear the reluctancy in his voice. "No. Remus needs you." She insisted. That was the end of their conversation. All thought of the nights prefect duties were pushed out of their minds as they tried to perform the technical charms required of them.

* * *

><p>Sam turned his head, scanning the room to make sure no one else was around. Once he felt satisfied that the common room was empty, he joined Avery, Mulciber and Snape on the couches. The Slytherin common room was in the dungeons, filled with ancient armoury emblazoned with the Slytherin house colours; green and silver.<p>

The four boys were lounging on some of the couches that were placed around the large room. They were wearing their robes as it was only lunch time and still had two more lessons before they were free for the day. It was only the first day back of term, yet none of them wanted to be there any longer.

"I have an idea." Sam whispered with a glisten in his eyes.

The three other students leant in closer, curious to see what Sam's idea was. Sam was considered a little odd by his fellow students in Slytherin. He had come with only a couple of years of school left which was strange to begin with but then he hadn't made very many friends. The Prisa twins were friendly with him because they had apparently known him outside of school, but other than them that was kind of it. He had held a couple of conversations with Avery, Mulciber and Snape too as they were sharing a dorm. But he was only now starting to talk and hang out with them more.

"I can hear you whispering about becoming Death Eaters." He stated bluntly, not bothering to beat around the bush. "Are you just pretending when you say that, or are you being serious?"

They looked at each other nervously, fidgeting with their robes. "Serious." Avery grunted, looking at the ground. Once he had admitted to it the others quickly followed suit.

Sam smirked. "Prove it."

"How?" Snape asked the question that was on all of their minds.

Looking directly at Snape he started speaking. "A prefect will be on patrol tonight, walking the corridors, checking for students out of bed."

"And what do you want us to do? Sneak past them?" Avery mocked Sam. The others sniggered, Sam's jaw went tight as he fought back control.

"_You_ can if you want." He hissed. "But _we're_ going to teach the prefects a lesson."

"What lesson is that?" Snape questioned Sam.

He lounged back on his chair, confident that he had their full attention now. "The lesson they need to learn is that they aren't as high and mighty as they think they are."

"How are we going to do that?"

Sam was getting annoyed now at all of the interruptions. "I have a few... ideas." He glanced at the big clock above the fire place. Realising that he was going to be late for class if he stayed any longer he stood up. "I'll explain later." He said before leaving the three boys to ponder what they had just been told. Or the lack of what they had just been told. Sam had been very secretive about what his plans were, leaving them with only their best guesses.

* * *

><p>Lily had walked the countless corridors of Hogwarts many times. But never at night alone. The marble floor made every footstep sound like a gun exploding, the few candles that were lit cast a dim glow down the corridor but left half of it in shadows. The full moon's light didn't reach Lily, not tonight, not where she was.<p>

Air seeped through the small gaps between the windows and walls, causing Lily to shiver and wrap her robe tightly around herself. She was careful to make sure that her Prefect badge was was still on full display.

She whipped her head around upon hearing a muffled footstep. Her heart was racing. Each beat pounded in her ears. She questioned herself, wondering whether she had really heard the footstep or whether it was just her overactive imagination. The sound had come from down the hallway and around the corner, she couldn't see anybody.

"Hello?" She called out shakely. Her wand was grasped tightly in her hand causing her knuckles to turn white. There was no response. Nobody answered her call. It only echoed off the surrounding walls making her feel even more alone.

She inched towards the corner. All was silent other than the beats of her heart pounding in her ears. She could feel it steadily getting louder and faster.

Forward she crept. Daring herself to take another step everytime. She had always thought of herself as brave. She stayed up late watching scary movies, being home alone never scared her, as a little kid she had welcomed the dark rather than shying away from it. But Lily never expected anything to happen like this in real life. Sure her and Petunia had fun scaring each other. Jumping out from behind closed doors or under beds. But she knew this wasn't Petunia.

_It's just another student. _She tried to convince herself to stop freaking out. _But why didn't they respond?_ The voice of reason wasn't so reassuring tonight.

Her breath came out as gasps. She tried to calm herself. _There is nothing there. I just imagined the sound. Nothing there. I'm just psyching myself out._

Only a few more steps until she reached the corner. Taking a deep breath, she sucked up the courage and took that one step that would lead her forward. And... nothing. There was nothing. No one was there. She _had _imagined the sound.

Her breathing and heart-rate turned back to normal. Sighing, she turned around.

"Expelliarmus!" To her surprise, her wand flew out of her hand. Facing her were three students. She knew exactly who they were at first glance. Avery, Mulciber and Sev. Lily quickly raised her wand not liking the eerie atmosphere.

_Typical. The one night I'm alone... _She thought.

"You shouldn't be out of bed." Lily said, holding her head high, pushing her shoulders back, trying to assert some kind of authority. This was made harder by the loss of her wand. She was unarmed and unable to defend herself.

None of them moved, Avery and Mulciber sniggered at her. Snape wouldn't look her in the eye. He was staring directly at the ground; focusing on one seemingly important spot. From what she could see of his face she noticed that he looked guilty.

"Well?" She tried to force them to go back to their dormitories. "Go back to your dorm."

Avery stepped forward and looked like he was actually considering what Lily had ordered them to do. "Not _just_ yet." He twirled her wand in his hand, using it to taunt her. He took a deep breath and raised his own wand. His eyes were glaring at Lily with so much hatred. The brown in his eyes was black with the darkness that seemed to be consuming him.

"Wait!" Snape finally came to life. He put his arm on Avery's, trying to get him to stop. "Don't!" He glanced at Lily, but returned his eyes to his friends, using his eyes to try and beg them not to hurt her.

Flicking his wand, Avery cast a spell in front of Snape. Nobody had heard the spell as he had said it silently, mastering the art of saying the spell inside your head.

"Sectumsempra!" Avery yelled, flicking his wand towards Lily.

She didn't have time to react, to jump out of the way. Wandless meant that a simple defensive spell was impossible. She fell to the ground, withering in pain. Her skin felt as if it were on fire. Her arms, torso, legs, face – everything hurt. Lily clenched her teeth together trying to refrain from screaming.

Snape ran forward and into an invisible force that was holding him back. All he could think about was Lily. All he could see was Lily. She was lying on the ground with blood seeping through her clothing, puddling on the ground. He yelled out. "Let me go!" They wouldn't lift the spell that would allow him to rush to her aid. Instead he had to stay, watching. "Please!" He tried begging. But nothing was working.

Her voice rang down the corridor as she let out a gut-wrenching scream. The raw pain could be heard from her voice. Snape had made the spell, he knew what it did. He knew how much pain she was in. He felt foolish for every trusting Avery and Mulciber with this spell.

"You're going to kill her!" He yelled out again. Trying a different approach, he rounded on the two others. "Is that what you want? To murder her? Because you're doing a good job. Please. If I don't help her..." He trailed off not wanting to think about the severe consequences.

The two Slytherin students rolled their eyes and glanced at each other. With a flick of his wand the invisible shield was taken down.

Released, Snape ran to Lily, falling on the ground beside her. To him it didn't matter that her blood was soaking through the knees of his pants. Pulling out his wand he slowly moved it from her head to her toes muttering a string of words that formed the counter-curse. This stopped the bleeding, but from what he could see the cuts still needed tending to. They were far from healed.

When he turned around, neither Avery nor Mulciber were there. They had left him. They had hurt Lily and then fleed. However in their place was Sam Hastings, the one who had commissioned all of this. He looked scary and menacing as he stood with his top half consumed by shadows.

"You should get her to the hospital wing." He spoke from the shadows. Just a cold, hard voice with no face. The red haired girl whimpered in her unconscious form as if to add impact to Sam's suggestion.

Snape stood up, stepping away from Lily. With a swift movement of his wand, Lily was raised in the air. She looked ethereal, floating on her back in the air. Red hair spilled from her head, gravity pulling it towards the ground along with her robes. When she was above the ground, Snape could see the pools of blood. He looked horrified, he knew that loosing that much blood was definitely not good for someone.

"Are you coming?" He called when he realised that Sam wasn't following.

"I'll be down to see her later."

* * *

><p>He managed to get Lily down the flight of stairs and down the corridor. It took a lot of concentration to keep her in front of him and afloat. He burst through the doors of the hospital wing causing a huge ruckus. The nurse stumbled out of her room into the main area were all the beds were kept.<p>

She had clearly been sleeping as she was wearing a turqouise blue night gown. Her frizzy hair was ruffled and untidy on her head. Her name was Eliza Flume but nobody used her first name, they called her Ms. Flume.

Luckily the hospital wing was empty as it was only on the first day back of any term. All the beds were made lined up against both sides of the walls. Snape walked down a couple of the rows before placing Lily as gently as he could on a bed in the middle of the room.

"What happened?" Ms. Flume barked as she scurried down the room towards the two students.

Snape stopped. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell the truth, he didn't want to frame Avery and Mulciber even though what they did was definitely wrong they were only doing it because of Sam and then Sam had tried to save her. He was very confused. "Um..." He searched his mind. Ms. Flume was staring at him waiting for an answer, she wasn't going to wait much longer. "I don't know. I found her like this. Someone had done this to her, she was bleeding badly when I came up to her. I managed to stop it but she needs some essence of dittany to stop the scaring. And quickly."

Ms. Flume looked somewhat out of her comfort zone. Her job entailed situations like this and she knew that. The fact that she was still half asleep and still not sure of all the information made her second guess herself tonight. "If you don't mind, I'm the experienced one and I'll make that decision."

Snape watched from the end of the bed as he was pushed to the side by Ms. Flume. He watched as she examined Lily and couldn't help but pace the floor. He knew what she needed and couldn't believe that the nurse wasn't listening to him.

Conjuring up some gauze and white material, Ms. Flume started wrapping the deep scratch on Lily's arm.

"No! You're not listening!" Snape shouted and ran over to a small cupboard near the nurses office. He yanked opened the doors and searched through all the tiny viles. "Essence of dittany, essence of dittany." He repeated lowly to himself. Finding the small innocent looking bottle he grasped it in his hand and raced back to Lily's side.

He put a couple of drops on each wound. It was only then that he realised how extensive the damage was. Lily had one long scratch across her right check, one on her forarm, two on her stomach and a couple more on her legs. The gauges were very deep it was no wonder Lily had lost so much blood. Snape had never realised how dangerous his spell could be until now.

Ms. Flume watched annoyed as Snape pushed her out of the way. But was surprised when the dittany started to work so she allowed the student to continue. The wounds weren't healed completely but they looked better with the dittany on.

The nurse looked up when the doors opened yet again. _This is the most exciting first day of term in a long time._ She thought. Usually no one got hurt for the first couple of days and business in the hospital wing was very quiet.

She recognised the two boys who entered, which was not something that often happened in her profession. These two students were always in the hospital wing, whether is was because they were visiting people or because of pranks that had gone wrong. Peter Pettigrew had his arm around James Potter's shoulders and was leaning very heavily on him. Something was wrong with his leg, and so he was using his friend as a kind of walking stick.

Snape looked up at the two new arrivals and refrained from sighing. He knew that James would be furious when he saw Lily lying motionless on the bed. He just hoped that he would be too preoccupied with his other friend to notice. But that hope wasn't long lived.

Ms. Flume quickly walked away from the patient Snape was tending to and moved towards the new comers.

"It's his leg. I think it's broken." James struggled to say under the weight of his friend. He was red in the face, whereas Peter's was twisted with pain, it was clear they had been walking for awhile. James off loaded his friend onto a spare bed.

"How?" She demanded to know.

James glanced down at Peter. "Um... Remus." He spoke, bearly audible. The four of them had been in the shrieking shack awaiting Remus' usual transformation. Unfortunately Peter had gotten in the way. As he was such a small rat, he had gotten under Remus' feet and got trampelled. James had agreed to take care of Peter while Sirius took care of Remus. They had only been apart a few times during full moons, it was usually unheard of.

It was only then, as he spoke his friends name, that he took the time to look around the room to see who else was there. He noticed Snape hunched over somebody which made him curious. Until he looked down and saw the red hair.

It felt like his heart had stopped beating. He couldn't believe his eyes. No, it wasn't that he couldn't, it was that he didn't want to. The patient was Lily.

Without a backwards glance he walked to the only other patient in the room. His eyes were immediately drawn to all the scratches. "What happened?" He breathed.

Snape remained silent, putting dittany on the last scratch on her leg. James held onto Lily's hand, to comfort her he told himself. But in reality it was to comfort himself. Snape stepped back from Lily, putting the lid back on the dittany.

The touseled haired Quidditch star immediately snapped into action. He released Lily's hand and stood in front of Snape, confronting him. "What happened?" He asked, speaking slowly and precisly this time.

In return, Snape just glared at him rather than answering. "I have to go. I'll check on her tomorrow." He tried to push past James, but was stopped when he grabbed hold of his arm.

"No. You're going to tell me what happened. Now." James spat.

They glared at each other for a minute before Ms. Flume interrupted them. "Boys, please!" She chided. "Lily needs peace not fighting. Go outside if you wish to assert your dominance." The nurse walked over to her patient and started to wrap the gauze around the large scratches.

James let go, as much as he wanted to hurt Snape and find out what had happened, he wanted to make sure Lily was ok first. He grabbed onto her hand again. "Do you know what happened?" He asked in hushed tones.

The nurse relayed what Snape had told her. "She might have some scaring." Ms. Flume said with a sigh. "I'm trying my best though. If there _is_ any, hopefully, it will be minimal."

"Thank you." James said staring at Lily's face. She looked so peaceful lying on the bed but he knew that she had to be in pain. The cuts looked so bad, James couldn't even think of a spell that could do anything like that. He knew that he would have to find Snape and force the answer out of him somehow. Glancing down at his watch, it showed that it was one in the morning. His eyelids were starting to drag down, but he had to stay awake, for Lily.

* * *

><p>"How is she?" Peter had come up behind James, placing a hand on his shoulder.<p>

Ms. Flume had been busy that night. She had conjured a chair for James next to Lily's bedside were he was currently sitting and dozing off. His hand still firmly grasped onto Lily's. She had then set to work on fixing Peter's leg. Whipping up a batch of potion she made Peter drink. The taste wasn't pleasant but after he had, his leg had started to mend, painfully of course, but it would be for the better. And then she had made her way up to the sixth floor and cleaned away the blood Lily had spilled. James had wanted to go with her but then thought better of it. Worrying that the sight would make him too upset, plus he didn't want to leave Lily's side.

James had only just woken up from the light nap he had been taking. "Still asleep." He croaked before clearing his throat and rubbing away the sleep that had been resting in his eyes.

"Maybe you should go back to our dorm and get some sleep?" Peter suggested even though he knew there was no point. He had seen the uncomfortable position James had been sleeping in on the chair and knew that a bed would have been better.

"I have to stay with Lily." He answered exactly as Peter had expected him to.

"Want me to stay with you?"

"No, it's ok. You can go to bed." James finally tore his gaze away from Lily's face and graced Peter with a sad smile.

He lingered by Lily's side before finally leaving. Ms. Flume had done a good job, his leg had healed in under a couple of hours. The nurse had long since gone to bed, telling them to call her if anything happened. But nothing had happened. The hospital wing had been very silent. James was content just sitting beside Lily listening to her laboured breaths that seemed too shallow for their own good. She hadn't woken yet, but Ms. Flume said that it wouldn't be a few hours now until she woke up. Apparently she had given Lily some sleeping draught which would help with the pain and make her sleep it off.

James stood up, reluctantly and stretched. He paced down the end of her bed trying to wear off steam and tire himself out. After Peter had woken him up, his brain had gone into overdrive and he couldn't stop it. He was so worried about Lily that he had completely forgotten about the nights dramatic events with Remus. He obviously hoped that everything was ok, but could only focus on one person at the moment and that person was Lily.

The big wooden double doors opened noiselessly, breaking James out of his thoughts. He had been halfway through a step when the doors had opened. Immediately, James recognised the students fair hair and confident demeanour as Sam Hastings, even against the light shining in from behind the new comer.

The new arrival made James stand up taller as he waited for Sam to come to him. "What are you doing here?" He whispered furiously, trying to contain the anger. He had never liked Sam. Never trusted Sam. He didn't know why, but there was just something about him, something that made James' radar go into overdrive.

"I heard about Lily, I came into check on her." He whispered back, much calmer than James was.

"It's three in the morning." He questioned why he was there at such an ungodly hour.

"I was worried about her."

When he walked over to Lily's side and was about to take the seat James had previously occupied, something clicked and made James extremely angry. "I think you should leave." He hissed through his teeth. He didn't want to wake Lily up, he knew she needed all the rest she could get but he didn't want Sam there.

"I saved her. Or did Snape not tell you that part?" He seemed to be taunting James with information that the Gryffindor student so badly wanted.

"No, Snivellus didn't tell me that part." _He didn't tell me any part_. James thought, but didn't say as it would give away that he had no information concerning Lily. "What exactly did you do?"

"All you need to know is that I saved her life. Do you really think you're in any position to tell me what to do?" He whispered back angrily.

"I'm her boyfriend. That's my position to tell you what to do. Now get out, before I force you out."

Sam knew when to back off. He could quite easily have taken James in a fight and won but decided it was best to choose his battles, and this one did not have to be a battle. "Ok." He said holding his hands in the air, as a sign of surrender. "I'll leave."

James said nothing, only watched Sam's retreating figure. He stayed staring at it until the hospital doors had swung closed. He wondered what had actually happened to Lily, how anything like this _could_ have happened. Sighing James took a seat and tried to calm himself down so he could get some sleep.

* * *

><p>The night had been a restless one for James, this was common for a full moon night, though this night had been anything but usual. First with Wormtail getting hurt then Lily, James just wanted dawn to come. But sadly this didn't seem possible.<p>

An almighty crash sounded throughout the silent hospital, causing James to snap awake instantly. He immediately looked down at Lily thinking it was her. But her eyes were still shut, letting him know that she was still asleep.

He turned his head to the massive doors that were behind him. Stumbling through them were two students, one was leaning heavily on the other, breathing deeply and whimpering in pain. James recognised them almost instantly as his friends.

Before he could get a word out, Ms. Flume came stumbling into the main hospital wing. She was just as shocked as James, she too wished that the night would be quiet after it's earlier problems. "What's going on here?" She tried to whisper quietly for Lily's sake, helping her new patient onto a bed. But once she recognised Sirius and Remus she didn't really need an answer.

Dumbledore had informed her already of Remus' condition, and she often saw him in her wing. Some months would be better than others and she wouldn't see him, others were worse.

"James?" Sirius was surprised when his friend had come over to investigate the happenings. "Why are you here?"

"Long story." James said looking tired. "How is he?" He looked down at his friend.

Remus tried to fight the pain, the full moon was always hard. He had learned to live with the idea that he was a werewolf but the pain was something he hadn't come to terms with. Every full moon he tried to prepare himself. He took medicine, he isolated himself and his friends even became animagus for him. But still, after every transformation, he felt like his skin was burning and tearing. He felt like crying at the pain. He felt like screaming at god, asking why this was happening to him. But showing his friends this pain was not something he wanted. Remus didn't want to worry them any more than he already did.

"Not good. Tonight was bad." Sirius muttered, trying to keep his voice low so that Remus wouldn't hear. Not that Remus would have minded if he had heard. He would just have agreed with Sirius, the night had been a particularly bad one.

James nodded, as much as he wanted to stay with his friend he wanted to be by Lily's side more. He couldn't leave Sirius with no explanation so he gestured his head in the direction of her bed, meaning for Sirius to follow him.

He didn't immediately follow. He checked on Remus first and was distressed by the raw pain he could see in his friends brown eyes. Sirius would have given anything to give him a reassuring pat on the arm, anything to help the pain, but he felt like that would just make it worse.

Standing up, Sirius walked over to where James was sitting. A body was lying on the bed next to him, but his friends head was blocking the patients face. The small body lying on the bed had to belong to a girl, but Sirius still didn't understand who it was.

The red hair was the first thing he saw, making him gasp. She looked so helpless lying on the bed with her eyes closed, and a long scratch down one check. "Lily? I–I don't understand?" Sirius was dumbfounded, stuttering over his words, trying to make sense of the situation. He looked to his friend for an answer that would disperse the confusion from his mind.

"I don't understand either..." He muttered glaring at the scratch that stood out bright against her pale skin. Everything he knew he explained to Sirius, but most of the story was still unknown.

* * *

><p>"Shhh you'll wake her!" Came a far away voice. Lily could tell there were people speaking, she could hear what they were saying but she couldn't comprehend the words.<p>

"But I swear I saw her move!" Her finger twitched, pulling against the restraints of sleep. "See look! Her finger, it happened again!"

Lily scrunched her face, trying to convince her body it was time to wake up. This was easier said than done. Due to the potion that Ms. Flume had given Lily, she had slept throughout the rest of the night. She made a sound in the back of her throat like a sigh and wriggled around trying to get comfortable. Finally she managed to peel her eyelids open, it felt like a mission as if they had been glued shut.

The first thing she saw was a hand clasping hers. She squinted her eyes in confusion. It looked so big compared to hers and darker compared to her pale complexion. Her eyes trailed from the hand all the way up its arm to the face that owned it.

_James._ She thought, recognising the face at once.

"Hey." He whispered smiling at her. "How are you?"

"I've been better..." She croaked, her voice was hoarse and dry. "What's going on?" She raised the hand that James wasn't holding up to her face, as if to rub away the confusion. Tearing her gaze away from James she looked in a wide arc. Standing around her bed in a circle was Peter, Sirius, Tami, Elle and lastly Severus – he was probably the most surprising of them all.

"You're in hospital, Lily." James spoke slowly at her.

Everybody was talking, fighting to be heard over the din their friends were making. Everyone except Severus who stood quietly, watching Lily. He felt immensly guilty after what had happened, which was why he had stopped by to check on her.

Lily tuned her friends out as everything came back in flashes. _Her head whipped around upon hearing a muffled footstep. Her heart, it was racing. She was scared. Someone was there. Who was there?_ She was remembering everything. _It was just Sev, relief coursed through her... but Avery and Mulciber were with him. She had never trusted them, and for good reason. "Expelliarmus!" was yelled and suddenly she didn't feel so safe anymore. Pain. _That memory came back to her hard and fast. Everything was aching. She could feel were she had been hurt by the curse they had sent flying her way.

She looked down at her arm. There was white material wrapped tightly around it, she could feel a mild stinging from underneath. She assumed that Ms. Flume had given her something to ease the pain.

"Stop crowding her!" Ms. Flume ordered for silence. "Don't you all have classes to attend?"

They nodded glumily in response but none of them left. "Lily...?" Elle started but hesitated, leaving the word floating in the air.

"Yes?"

"Well-it's just... we were wondering if you know what actually happened to you?" She blurted out, blushing. It was clear that she had been chosen to ask, otherwise Lily doubted that she would have asked at all.

Ms. Flume leaned forward from where she was standing so it seemed clear that everyone was expecting an answer. "I-" Lily started. But stopped at Snape caught her eye. He had drawn in a quick breathe because he knew what was coming next. He had every right to feel nervous, but lucky for him, Lily saw the guilt and worry on his face. "I don't remember." She looked down at her sheets, she couldn't bear to look anyone in the face. "One minute I was patrolling... the next I woke up here."

One glance at Snape's face showed that he was relieved but mostly shocked. He couldn't believe she had just lied for him after everything that had happened last night. If she was being honest with herself, Lily couldn't believe she had lied for him either. _He owes me_, she thought, _big time._

Disappointed with the lack of information all her friends started to file out of the room after giving her hugs, calling out words of health and wishing her a speedy recovery. Everybody left except James, who stayed firmly planted in the seat beside her.

Her hand reached for the sheets that were pulled over her. Lily pushed it down, using her left hand awkwardly, as James still had hold of her right. Pulling up her top slowly, she revealed a small section of her stomach. Lily gulped loudly, she could see two long scratches, stretching out over her pale stomach.

James looked away, he didn't want to see the pain he knew Lily must be in. Just catching a glimpse of those scratches made him angry.

"You should go, you have classes." Lily tried to insist, giving him a tiny push towards the door. She didn't want him to leave, but it was for her own selfish reasons. There was no legitimate reason she could think of to keep him with her.

He ignored her. "Who did this to you Lily? You must know."

She chewed on her bottom lip. He had never seen her do this before so he didn't know what it meant. Was she nervous? Worried? Scared? Angry? Unsure? "I don't remember." She refused to look him in the eye.

"Please, I want to help."

"I know you do, James. But... what if something happens to you?"

_So she is worried._ James thought. _And now she's trying to protect me? _He listened to her in disbelief. _After all that Lily went through, she wants to protect me?_ James understood, more so than ever, why Lily had been put into Gryffindor house.

"I can look after myself, Lily. Please, just tell me." He tried to beg with her. Anything to make her tell him.

"I'm sorry, I can't." She looked sad, but had decided that it would be for the best if he didn't know the truth.

"Fine." James pouted in his seat. After he realised that Lily wasn't going to tell him who had hurt her, he stood up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go to my classes." He kissed her on the forhead before swiftly walking out of the doors and into the mayhem of the corridor beyond.

Lily could tell she had offended him and she honestly did desperately want to tell him but she was scared. Scared of what Avery and Mulciber could do to her if they found out she told anyone. Scared of what James would do to them if she told him. Scared of how he could potentially get hurt by the troublesome Slytherin students if he confronted them. It wasn't just her own safety that she feared for.

* * *

><p>Ms. Flume had made it very clear that Lily was to spend the next couple of days in the hospital so her recovery can be monitered. Which meant that James would not be finding out who had done that to her, until she was out and able to stop him from doing something reckless.<p>

She hadn't minded so much when she found out that Remus would be stuck in there with her for a day, but then she had gotten lonely when he ignored her for the morning.

"Remus?" She decided to start the conversation because she was bored out of her mind.

"Yes?" He grunted, noncommittally.

"Is everything ok?" She approached the subject head on, hoping that was the best way.

He didn't answer for a long time, she was worried that she had been too forward and scared him off. "No." He finally said, so quietly, if it weren't for the silence of the hospital wing she would never have heard him. Lily didn't talk, she let him find the words to explain what was happening. "I don't want to be like this, Lily. I never wanted this, but now more so than ever. It's causing me to hurt people. I'm _hurting _people. There is no excuse for what I've done." He sounded almost disgusted with himself.

She took a few seconds to shape her answer, wondering how she was going to tackle this one. "You're right. Being a werewolf isn't an excuse. But James, Sirius and Peter, they know the risks. They know they are putting themselves in danger when they come with you and it never stops them. You can't blame yourself. Besides, I doubt you'd be able to stop them even if you wanted to." She said her part, though she wasn't convinced she had gotten through to Remus.

It was nearing lunchtime in the real world; all of the students would be sitting in class, wasting the minutes until they were free. But not Lily or Remus. They were sat in silence in the hospital wing. Remus had gone back to moodily glaring at inanimate objects around the room. Lily had no idea what to do, what to say. She had tried. She had given her speech of encouragment, but it hadn't worked. She reminded herself to mention this to James later on...

Before she knew it, her friends were flooding in through the doors to spend lunch time with her and Remus. Recovery was a boring process but she was glad her friends were with her. James stopped by fleetingly to say hi, but left soon after. Lily could tell he was still upset that she refused to tell him who had done this.

Lily smiled as Tami pounded her for information, Elle scoulded their blonde friend which amused Lily to no end. She longed to get out of her confinment and brave the outside world.

"Is there anything we can get you, Lily?" Elle asked resonably.

_James._ Was Lily's first thought, but she shook her head and told them nothing. But they could see through the walls she built. They could also see the tension in the air between the two Gryffindor students, so when they left the hospital wing they resolved to get James down there.

* * *

><p>She had given up on trying to stay awake. She let her eyes win, allowing them to droop down, blocking the sunlight. The sweet knowledge of sleep embraced her exhaustion with open arms. Alas, she wasn't as fortunate as she had hoped to be.<p>

"What's going on!" James yelled as he came running into the hospital wing making an awful racket.

"I don't know?" Lily was confused and still half asleep. She groggily sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

He started to blush when he realised Lily was fine. "Wait, so, your wounds– they haven't gotten infected and put you into a coma?"

"No!" She stated. "Why?"

"Well... because- Sirius- and then I saw Tami... and, I mean, it could... happen..." He knew he had been tricked by his friend, Sirius, who had played such a convincing role.

"No. I'm fine." She reassured James from her hospital bed.

He sat down on the seat that he had occupied the previous night. "Right, yeah I can see that... why am I here then?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders. The last comment had hurt, he clearly hadn't wanted to be there and wouldn't have come on his own accord.

"Shall I stay and keep you company?" He offered politely.

"James, if you want to leave you should just go." She was angry at how he could be upset over something so small.

"I don't _want _to leave, Lily. What I want is for you to tell me who did this to you. I can help you, I know I can. We can tell Mcgonnagall. Or Professor Dumbledore. Anyone. Please just let me in." His voice was raw with emotion as he begged yet again for the truth.

Conflict ran through her mind; to tell him, or not to tell him? That was the question she so desperately wanted to know the answer to, but before she could find it out his mouth was on hers. Kissing her pationately. Remus was asleep on the other bed, which she was thankful for.

When they broke apart Lily breathed out three words which had never meant to be said, "Avery and Mulciber." Immediately she regretted it.

"What?" He asked, confused as to why she would be whispering their names after a kiss like that.

"Um..." She tried to think of a lie but couldn't do it. "They're the ones." She looked down at her bed sheets not wanting to face James' expression.

Allowing a glance, she looked at James. His face burned with anger, it dripped off his skin like acid. His eyes raged with realisation.

"Please don't do anything!" It was her turn to beg. Lily rushed to get the words out of her mouth before she lost James completely. "James, please! Promise me!"

It seemed like he only just noticed her lying there for the first time. He tried to make his expression less severe but it didn't work very well. "Avery and Mulciber?" He repeated to check, but he hardly needed to. Their names were ringing in his ears, her voice whispering them echoed, it was the only thing he could hear.

"James, don't! Stay with me please, stay with me!" Her eyes filled with tears. She knew the kind of spells they were capable of performing and would never wish that upon somebody else. "Will you stay with me?" She asked softly this time.

James looked into her eyes. As much as he wanted to murder them for hurting Lily, he didn't like seeing her as distressed as she was now. He stopped and took a moment, trying to contain his anger. _I can stay with Lily now,_ He thought. _There's plenty of time for revenge tomorrow..._


	13. Truth

_Hey there everyone, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic :D_

_I'm currently writing this Authors Note by candle light, I can't see my keyboard! I live in New Zealand and we're in the middle of like the coldest storm that has ever happened – or at least that's what it feels like! I guess the one good thing about the power cut is that I have no internet to procrastinate with and so I finally got this chapter finished!_

_For some unknown reason my mind keeps running away with me and what I had planned to be a short chapter actually turned into a rather long one... In this chapter Lily confronts Snape about what happened during the full moon night (you know in the last chapter – where Avery and Mulciber attacked Lily) and Remus is still trying to deal with the acceptance that he hurt his friend but is only making it more difficult by not letting anyone in._

_Um, well now this chapter is finished and I have no internet to upload it with I guess you'll be getting it tomorrow... Good news is that I have a snow day tomorrow (first I have ever had and probably the last too) which means chapter 14 should be well underway too!_

_Thanks again for reading,_

_Please review and tell me what you're thinking,_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.)_

* * *

><p>"You've been avoiding me all week."<p>

The Slytherin student with greasy hair looked uncomfortable with the confrontation. He knew what he had done was wrong and he still couldn't believe Lily had covered for him.

She had caught up with him while he was walking down the hallway. It wasn't empty, there were still a few students lagging behind, late for their classes. But they just ignored the two Gryffindor and Slytherin students who were having a conversation.

Lily had been on her way to Transfiguration when she had seen Snape in the hallway and decided to approach him about the other night.

"Maybe I just don't want to see you?" He sneered, finally looking Lily in the eye with such contempt that made her take a small step back.

"You were going to have to explain yourself at some point." Lily held her ground, trying to show some kind of confidence. After the other night most of her confidence had been diminshed. She was dreading the next time she had to patrol. Walking around school was fine, but when she was alone she started getting a little nervous.

Snape started to walk away from her, she had to make him stay. "I know it was you, Avery and Mulciber." She yelled, her voice echoing off the walls. But it did its intended job. Snape stopped in his tracks and turned back around to face her, slowly. "I know you just stood there and did nothing!" She was getting worked up, she could feel her throat closing and tears looming.

"Shhh!" He commanded and strode back to her. "Have you told anyone? Have you told them that?"

Lily focused her eyes on the ground, not meeting Severus' eyes.

"Who did you tell?" His voice was viscious as he spat into her face. She looked up at him with wide eyes that looked like they were begging for forgivness.

"Just tell me you didn't tell James..." Once he saw her face he knew the answer. His index finger and thumb pinched the bridge of his nose and his eyes closed. He should have guessed that James would know the truth. _If James knows the truth then it's a safe bet that the other Marauders do too._ He thought.

"I had to..."

"No you didn't! You don't _think_ do you? Do you know what this means for me?" He exploded.

There were tears in her eyes now, and she was definitely going to be late for Transfiguration. "He's not going to do anything to you! He promised! I don't want to hurt you Sev, I just want the truth, please?"

"Fine." He gave in, unwillingly. "Just not here. Meet me in the Library at five." He hastily departed, leaving Lily by herself.

* * *

><p>James had been sitting at the table fidgeting with his workbook and glancing at the door every ten seconds. Lily was late but she had no reason to be. She hadn't told him why she was going to be late or that she was even going to be. Of course after the attack three nights ago he was still on high alert.<p>

Since he hadn't been there for her on that night, he felt like he had to be there for her now. Protecting her against anything else they may hurt her. The fact that she was now lost worried him.

A piece of paper floated onto his desk in the middle of his work. He opened it out and read the message that had been scrawled on it.

Still not here?

He glanced around him, but didn't really need to, he could tell Sirius' handwriting after six years of being friends.

Oh really? What gave you that idea? He wrote back sarcastically.

No need to get snippy! Where is she? His friend added to the bottom of the paper.

If I knew that I wouldn't be freaking out...

As Sirius received the last note the door opened. Everyone turned to see who was coming in late, no one could mistake Lily's fiery hair. James at last started to relax at the sight of her.

"You're late." Professor McGonagall stated, annoyed that she had disrupted the classroom. "I hope you have a good excuse?" She raised an eyebrow as she waited for the answer.

"Sorry Professor, I don't." Her head was turned down to the ground as she walked over to take a seat.

"Next time you're late you won't be allowed in." She warned, it was the same threat that she gave to everyone who had come in late. Giving Lily one last stern look, she turned her attention back to the class and continued with her lesson.

Lily sat down grateful that was the only lecture she was going to get. After her small talk with Snape she was worn out, she was dreading seeing him tonight, but also glad that she was going to get the whole story.

"Are you ok?" James whispered, anxious because she wasn't looking at him.

"Fine." She glanced at him with a smile. She didn't offer him anymore information.

Well...? Where was she? Sirius threw the note back onto his best friends desk.

I don't know... she won't tell me! James sighed, looking at Lily before replying.

Maybe she was making out with some Hufflepuff and doesn't want you to know... Sirius teased. Lily snatched the paper before James had a chance to reply and read the small conversation. When she realised she was the topic of it she raised an eyebrow at James. Grabbing her quill she added her own message to the bottom.

Yes, that's definitely what happened, Sirius. Now butt out. She was not in the mood for Sirius' jokes. She hadn't slept well over the last couple of nights. She felt no pain from the faint scares, but the memory of how she got them wouldn't fade as easily. She woke up during the middle of the night hyperventilating from the nightmares that had terrified her.

"So what did happen...?" James whispered.

Lily debated whether to tell him, but decided that he would probably find out sooner or later and so told him anyway. "I was talking to Sev."

He swallowed the insult that he had been about to say. "...talked?" He asked.

Lily understood what he meant. "Yes, just talked. He didn't do anything to me, besides... the other two weren't there."

"So... it was just you and him? That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"James, it's ok. We just talked. I told you before it was the other two, it wasn't him. He was trying to protect me."

"You can hardly blame me, you haven't exactly told me what actually happened."

"That's because I don't know myself!" She fired back at him, still in whispers. "I'm going to find out tonight!" She was going to tell him that, but it had slipped out. She inhaled quietly and bit her lip. Holding her breath she waited for James' response.

"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously.

Lily glanced at the table, away from James' confused eyes. "He asked me to meet him tonight..." She shrugged, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal.

James wasn't fooled. "I'm coming." He insisted.

"No! James, really! This is something I have to do by myself..."

Professor McGonagall silenced them with a glare. "This isn't over." He whispered.

Lily wanted to roll her eyes at James' stuborn personality. And she would have, if she hadn't known that he meant it. They would talk about this later, Lily would have to come up with a convincing argument as to why he couldn't come.

The rest of the lesson passed without anymore words exchanged between the two of them. Lily thought she was off the hook and quickly packed her books away, hoping to leave the lesson before James could talk to her. She thought she had made it, but someones hand grabbed hold of her own.

Turning back around she saw it was James. "Not so fast." He said, knowing that she had hoped to avoid this.

The two Gryffindor students made their way out of the classroom. "I have to come with you." James spoke quietly as they walked down the corridor that was bustling with students.

"James, you can't. I told you that already." She sighed, staring at her feet that were dragging along the ground. "Its not because I don't want you there. It's because you _can't_."

"Why?"

"Sev doesn't like you enough as it is, he isn't going to tell me anything if you're there. Besides he's not going to hurt me."

"How do you know that?" James put his hand under Lily's chin and raised her head so she was looking into his eyes. "He's already hurt you before..."

She could see the genuine concern in his eyes. "I trust him." She said. "And if you trust me, then you'll let me go. He was there... but he didn't hurt me. That was Avery and Mulciber. Sev was trying to save me... I think. I just want to find out the truth. Which is why I have to go. Alone." She added for emphasis.

Looking into Lily's green eyes he could see the honesty in them, and although it killed him he nodded. "Ok. But, be careful. If anything happens to you..." He trailed off, leaving his sentence in mid-air.

Lily didn't know whether it was a threat to Snape or if it was him not forgiving himself for the last time he wasn't there to save her. "I'll be fine." She said as reassurance for him, but also for herself.

* * *

><p>There was only half an hour left until she was meant to meet Snape in the library. Most of Gryffindor students were sitting in the common room, completing homework or chatting with friends. Lily was definitely doing the latter. All four of the Marauders were there and also Tami, Lily and Elle.<p>

Tami was talking to Sirius about firecrackers, Lily assumed it was more for his amusement than her friends. "Got anymore pranks coming up this year?"

A sly smile spread across his face. "Wouldn't be a surprise if you knew..." He winked at her.

Lily was tuned out of their conversation she was too busy thinking about what Severus was going to tell her. She knew mostly what happened but she didn't know why. She was unsure whether he would actually tell her the truth, or if he'll just lie about what happened.

"We'd have to kill you if we told you..." James joined in. He could see that Lily was distracted and so didn't even bother trying to hold a conversation with her. She was leaning against James' chest and he had his arms wrapped around her.

Remus and Elle were sitting apart from the group. They weren't saying much, Elle was watching Remus as he stared into space. Lily hadn't told Elle about the conversation her and her werewolf friend had had in the hospital when they were both in there. She wasn't sure if she should. On one hand Elle deserved to know, but on the other, if Remus hadn't told her already he probably didn't want her to know. So Lily had kept her mouth shut.

"Is everything ok?" Elle whispered, her forehead was creasd with worry.

He was staring at the fire, but his blue eyes were unseeing. Ever since the last full moon he had been increasingly quiet and withdrawn. All his friends had noticed, but just assumed that he would snap out of it. Elle was worried because he hadn't yet.

He glanced at her, flashing a small smile. "I'm fine." He said. Elle could tell the smile wasn't real, he wasn't fine. There was something wrong she just didn't know what.

Remus went back to staring at the flames and she continued giving him worried glances. She decided to drop it and talk to him about it later.

"Nervous?" James whispered in Lily's ear so only she could hear. "You don't have to go alone you know."

"I know... but I do." She muttered under her breath.

James sighed, he knew it was going to be hopeless. She would never have let him go. "If he hurts you..."

Apparently he didn't whisper it quietly enough. Sirius' head whipped around. "_Hurts her_? What's going on?" James could swear that ever since he had become an animagus all of Sirius' senses were heightened thanks to his dog form.

"Nothing." Lily suddenly said, louder than needed for the conversation.

James kept his mouth shut. He wanted to say something, but knew that Lily didn't want other people to know the truth.

Sirius kept staring at them and the others were looking at Lily now too. "Lily?" Elle asked, her eyes finally leaving Remus.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm fine. Everything is fine." Lily stood up and walked out of the common room without so much as a backward glance.

Leaving everyone looking at James. He just shrugged his shoulders as he watched Lily go. "She'll be ok." He said, although his voice didn't sound so sure of the words he was saying.

* * *

><p>She was earlier than she had wanted to be, but Lily had to leave the common room when she did. It wasn't that she wanted to keep it a secret but she didn't want to tell people the truth when she didn't know it herself. The library had quite a few students in it, but they were already starting to leave for dinner.<p>

She sat at her favourite table. She liked it because not many people came to this seat as it was near the back. It was tucked in below shelves of towering books. Lily hoped that Severus would be able to find her, but in some ways she kind of didn't want him to.

"Well you're early..." Snape said walking up behind her.

"Eager to find out the truth." She answered quickly.

He smirked and sat down opposite her. Pulling out his wand he waved it around them and muttered, "Muffliato."

"What does that spell do?" Lily asked, worried about a repeat of the other night.

"I made it up – means no one can eavesdrop."

"So..." She prompted. "Start talking whenever you like..."

"...I don't know where to start."

"How about at the beginning?"

"Ok, well... I guess it started on the first day back at term in the common room. Sam was talking to us about–"

Lily interrupted him. "Wait, Sam? As in new-kid-Sam?"

"Yes." He nodded, impatiently.

She still didn't understand. "What has he got to do with this?" Sam was still going to Transfiguration training with her every week and was making some improvement but it was slow.

"Well if you would listen..." Snape continued with his story. "He started talking to us about the dark arts." Lily's eyebrows raised at this information. She knew that Severus was being slowly infected by dark magic but still hoped it wasn't true. "He said something like '_prefects should be taught a lesson'_ and told us that it would be _fun_ to go after the prefect who was on patrol that night."

Until that moment he hadn't looked at Lily. "I swear, if I had known it was you I would have told them not to go."

All Lily could think about was Sam. She didn't know why he would do something like this to her. Over the past term she had thought they were in some way friends. "No, it can't have been Sam. He wasn't even there!"

"I never said he was there... Can I continue?"

Lily nodded, but still all she could think about was why Sam would be involved.

"When we got there, well, you know what happened. But when I realised it was you – I tried to stop them. They were using a shield charm on me. I couldn't get to you, Lily. I'm so sorry."

She believed him, _Snape ran forward and into an invisible force that was holding him back. He yelled out. "Let me go! Please!"_ She couldn't remember much but the searing pain, but she remembered that. She remembered praying for them to let him go, praying for them to stop.

"It was Avery and Mulciber, they used 'sectumsempra' in you. It's another spell I made up. And, well... you already know what it does. They released the shield charm after a bit. I rushed over to you and stopped the bleeding. I took you down to the hospital wing after and put some essence of dittany on the scratches, then James came and so I left... Look, I'm only telling you all of this so that you won't go blabbing to everyone. If you do, it'll only get me into trouble."

"You don't think you deserve to be in trouble?"

"I didn't _do_ anything!" He had managed to stay rather calm while he was telling the story but now he was starting to get annoyed. "Except save your life. Without me you'd be dead."

"Without you that stupid spell wouldn't have been invented in the first place!"

"It was never meant for you! ...I don't even know why I'm trying to justify this to you. You're just a stupid Mudblood and you always will be." He spat out the word.

It was too late to take it back, not that he would anyway. Snape had called her a Mudblood once before and that had led to the end of their already stretched friendship. Back in fifth year when he had said it it had been a mistake. But it didn't slip out accidently this time, this one was intentional.

He saw the look on her face but didn't care. Standing up, Snape left her sitting at the table and walked away. He was glad she wouldn't be following him. If they had left at the same time his friends would be sure to find out and he would be known as the Mudblood-Lover again.

* * *

><p>"Are you alright, Prongs?" Sirius looked at his friend who was sitting at the table jittering.<p>

It took James a few seconds to register what Sirius had said, form a response and then say it. "Yup."

Lily was supposed to join them when her and Snape had finished talking but she still hadn't showed up. He kept trying to convince himself that everything was fine and she was just talking to him. But there was still a nagging thought in his mind that she was being hurt.

James had been feeling immensly guilty after Snape had hurt Lily the other night and he hadn't been there for her.

"Ok, what's going? You've been acting weird all day! Is this still about... erm... the other night?" Sirius asked.

"Kind of." James sighed and continued picking at his food.

"If you tell us we might be able to help..."

The Quidditch player didn't like this attention. Usually he thrived on it, but not being able to tell them the truth made it hard. "And with that being said... the same goes for you, Moony." He turned towards his quiet friend who hadn't said a word this whole time.

Remus looked up from his plate of food to see all three of his friends staring at him. He swallowed the food he had in his mouth. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Is everything ok, Moony?" James asked, trying to distract himself from Lily's absence.

"Yeah..." He muttered, returning his attention to his food.

"'Cause you can tell us if it isn't, you know that right?"

The one who felt like he was being questioned sighed. "I know. Thanks guys." He finished scooping the last couple of mouthfuls past his teeth. Chewed them and then swallowed fast. "I'm going to go back to the Common Room – essay." Remus stood up and walked down the Great Hall, between the Gryffindor table and the Ravenclaw table.

Elle looked up and watched him leave. She glanced back towards his friends, Sirius saw her looking. "Do you know what's wrong?"

She shook her head sadly. One thing was for sure though, she had made up her mind and was going to find out. Sooner rather than later.

Just as Remus was exiting through the big double doors, Snape passed him, entering. It wasn't unusual for students to come in and out as they please for dinner. The only formal dinner occasions were Christmas, Halloween and the End-of-Year feast.

James saw Snape entering it made him sit up in his seat as he tried to look past him waiting for Lily. When she didn't show up James started to fret at the table.

"Ok, seriously, Mate. What the hell is going on?" Sirius demanded, tired of being left out of the loop.

"Lily isn't here." He told them. It was the truth but it didn't explain anything.

"Elle!" Padfoot called down the table. When she looked up he asked her about Lily's whereabouts.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know, haven't seen her since..." Elle trailed off remembering the common room only a couple of hours ago.

Prongs stood up and swiftly made his way towards the exit. He shot a glare at Snape as he was leaving. _Where is she?_ Was all he could think. Lily hadn't told him where she was meeting Snape, just that she would come find James afterwards. But she hadn't.

* * *

><p>The Gryffindor dorm rooms were simple. There were five beds placed periodically around the room in a big semi-circle. It was much the same as every other dorm room in Gryffindor, only this one housed Elle, Lily and Tami.<p>

It was empty of girls tonight except for Lily. She was curled up on her bed, under the inviting warm covers. After Snape had finished talking with Lily she had come back to her dorm. She was meant to go back to the hall for dinner and so she could tell James what happened, but she hadn't wanted to go to a room full of people. She had wanted to be alone. Just to think about everything that Snape had told her.

She didn't want to believe that Sam was involved with any of this. _Maybe Sev was just saying that to hurt me?_ Lily tried to think of different possible reasons. _Maybe he heard Sam wrong? Maybe he just had to think of a name and that was the first one that came to mind?_

Lily stared at the roof, counting the few cracks over and over again. She knew she should be hungry but after the conversation her appetite had been lost. Soon, she knew that Elle and Tami would be coming back from dinner and she dreaded having to tell them the truth.

"Lily?" She heard her name being faintly called.

Sitting up she looked around the room, trying to figure out if she had heard the voice or simply imagined it. "Lily?" She heard it again. It was definitely real and it was definitely her name being called.

She unwillingly got out of bed and made her way down the staircase towards the common room. Turning around the last corner she saw James pacing at the base.

When he saw her face peek around the corner he let out a sigh of relief. "Lily! Where have you been? I've been so worried! You were supposed to come and see me when you finished talking! What happened?" The words tumbled out of his mouth.

"I – I'm sorry. I just... didn't feel like going for dinner." She said turning to walk back to the safety of her bed.

"No wait!" He leaned forward on his toes and grabbed hold of her arm. "I can't go up there." He said referring to the spell that Dumbledore had placed on the girls staircase which meant that no boys could get up there.

Lily didn't really want to explain what had happened but she knew that James would just find a way to get up the steps if she didn't go down. She let James lead her down the steps and into the common room. Sitting her down on a couch by the fire.

"Tell me what happened?" He asked.

Lily contemplated telling him about Sam, but then decided it was a bad idea. She decided to wait until she could ask him for herself. "It was Avery and Mulciber like I thought. Apparently they held Snape back with some kind of spell."

He seemed disappointed with the lack of information. "Didn't we kind of already know that? Well, I mean I thought Snivillus was involved, still do actually..."

"But he wasn't." Lily insisted.

"Ok, lets say, for arguments sake that I believe him. I think we should still go to Dumbledore about Avery and Mulciber."

"But if we go about them then Sev will be in trouble too!"

"If he didn't do anything like he says then there shouldn't be any problems."

"I'm not telling Dumbledore and neither are you." Lily drew the line at that. Infact she drew the line at telling anyone. If she could have gotten away with it she probably wouldn't have told James either. She stood up, ignoring James' protests and made her way back to her room. She could still hear James calling below as she made her way up the stairs but she didn't respond to him.

* * *

><p>"Will you please just talk to me?" Elle resorted to begging to get the answer out of Remus.<p>

"I am talking to you..."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

She was feeling completely helpless. It was Wednesday and Remus hadn't spoken in proper sentences since before the full moon on Monday.

He sighed. "What do you want me to say?"

"You know you can talk to me... What happened on Monday?" She asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. Elle had waited three days for Remus to come and talk to her first, because he hadn't she decided to instigate the conversation.

His blue eyes fell from her face. They were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, it was quite late and most of the other students had gone to bed already. It seemed that it was always that group of friends up later than anyone else.

"It was my worst fears coming true..." He whispered. His voice was raw with pain.

Elle kept silent waiting for him to continue his story in his own time.

"I tell them – I tell them _every. Single. Time._ Not to come but they never listen to me. They always insist on being there. It's very brave of them, but also very stupid. They know the risks but they chose not to listen. ...it was really only a matter of time before this happened to one of them."

"What happened?" She asked, she knew that Lily, Remus and Peter had all been in the hospital wing that Monday night, but she wanted to hear from Remus.

"I don't even know... Peter – he got in the way. It doesn't matter what happened," he said with a sigh. "What matters is that I hurt him. I broke his leg... Ms. Flume grew it back easy enough but... I don't know how he was so easily able to forgive me? I can't even forgive myself." His voice was ragged by the time he finished speaking.

Elle could see the disgust on his face and the unshed tears in his eyes. She put a hand on his shoulder and watched as he flinched away. "You have to forgive yourself," she insisted. "Because it isn't your fault. Peter doesn't think it is. James and Sirius – they don't think it is._ I_ don't think it is. No one blames you Remus."

"They should..." He whispered.

The dark haired Gryffindor wrapped her arms around Remus' shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. Trying in any way possible to comfort him. She knew that he hadn't forgiven himself tonight, but at least now that she knew the truth she would be able to work on it.

* * *

><p>"Wait! Where are you going?" James pounced on the fact that Lily was attempting an escape.<p>

It was lunchtime on the first Friday of term after a rigorous double Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall had been making them practise an extremely difficult charm. By the end of the lesson Lily was the best one in the class but still hadn't quite got it perfect.

"The bathroom... is that ok?" Lily asked sarcastically. Before she got an answer she turned swiftly on her heel and stalked away from him.

Ever since Wednesday James had refused to let Lily leave his side. She had run off to her bedroom and then the next morning James had stuck to her like glue. Obviously when they had different classes he reluctantly let her go, or when she had to go to the bathroom. But she was getting quite sick of it. Snape wasn't going to hurt her, nor did she believe that Avery and Mulciber were going to, not after the hospital trip that occurred due to the last time.

She had finally been able to sleep through the night without nightmares waking her up. That seemed like it was all she needed. Now that she felt well rested she felt a lot better.

The fact that James decided he needed to know her exact position at all time and had just questioned where she was going was starting to wear thin. At first she hadn't minded, she had realised how guilty he was and just wanted to protect her. But now she just wanted him to leave her alone. There was definitely such a thing as too much. And this was it. _This is crossing over the line of sweet to insane._ She thought.

* * *

><p>As soon as Lily's figure passed through the doors he felt anxious. They had been previously sitting in the library working on homework during their lunchbreak until Lily had left to use the bathroom. James could tell that she was a little... frazzeled, but he thought it was just because she was scared of Avery and Mulciber. There was nothing he wanted more than to see them get punished, unfortunately Lily had forbidden it.<p>

He pulled out a big piece of folded parchment. Ever since Monday he had made sure he had it at all times. Opening it up, he placed his wand on it "_I sollemnly swear I'm up to no good._" He spoke.

Words started to form across the paper. It was a map that he and the other Marauders had created. It had taken some pretty advanced magic. It showed the whole of Hogwarts, every student in it and where they are.

He watched as Lily's figure walked away from the library and up some stairs towards the girls bathroom. He quickly scanned it for any Slytherin students that might be in the vicinity. When he was satisfied that there were none he just watched Lily's figure waiting for her to return.

* * *

><p>The red haired witch was sitting in a desserted classroom. She was sitting on a chair, her elbows resting on the table infront of her. Her green eyes stared blankly outside the window. She was thinking, just thinking, about everything.<p>

The scars on her body were almost healed, only small silver lines were left now. Within days the marks should be gone she hoped. Ms. Flume had told her Severus was to thank for the quick healing.

"There you are!" Sirius came walking up behind Lily.

She was snapped out of her reverie. "Here I am..." When she realised it was just Sirius she turned back to the window. There was something about the sluggish moving clouds that enthralled her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, undettered by her lack of interest and taking a seat next to her.

"Nothing..." Lily said not wanting to tell him the truth. Not wanting to let him know that the real reason she was there was to escape his best friend. She figured that if she told him then James would only find out sooner or later.

"Ok." He dropped it, opting for a comfortable silence.

The silence didn't last long though, Lily had never expected it to. "You know James is looking for you."

There was a Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Quidditch game being played that afternoon. James had been searching the school grounds for Lily all morning, but she was apparently nowhere to be seen. Sirius had finally sent James to go get ready for the game with the promise that he would continue the search an hour ago.

"I know." Lily answered lightly.

"And...?"

Lily sighed, finally looking at Sirius. "And I really don't care. He can live without me for a couple of hours!" She had finally cracked. James had been babysitting her for the last couple of days, ever since the incident. "I'm not some child that needs constant care. I'm a girl who can handle herself. I didn't die the other night. I'm. Fine."

Sirius paused. She didn't sound like she was fine. She sounded like she was angry and on the verge of breaking down, anything but fine. But he nodded. "Whatever you say. The game starts in fifteen minutes." He reminded her.

"I'll be right there." She said but didn't move.

He took that as his cue to leave and so did exactly that. Expecting Lily to follow after him.

* * *

><p>Finally Lily gave up on her dream of being alone and decided she should go watch the Quidditch game. She knew that if she didn't go James would be upset with her. And no matter how annoyed she was with James right now, she did understand that it wasn't entirely his fault.<p>

In some ways she had to admit it was nice that he cared for her so much. I mean obviously her friends worried for her safety, like any friend would. But this – this was different.

She walked out of the classroom and started making her way to the grand doors at the entrance of the school. She didn't pass any students on her way down because most of them were already at the game to ensure prime seating positions.

"Lily!" A boys voice called from behind her.

Upon turning around she recognised him as Sam Hastings. "Oh hey..." She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Wait up!" He strode over to her, covering the distance in a few long steps. "I was hoping I could show you something. We've been practising so hard for Transfiiguration – well I think I've finally got it!" He sounded really excited and his hands were animated.

Lily couldn't help but smile because she knew how long they had been working on it. "That's really good, Sam. But I'm actually just heading down to–"

"The Quidditch game. I know. But this will only take a second!" His eyes were big as they begged her to follow him.

She glanced over her shoulder at the way she knew she should be going. Then back to Sam. Her head told her not to go alone with the guy who possibly started this whole mess, yet her heart told her that she was going to have to find out the truth.

_Better late than never!_ She thought and taking a deep breath she stepped towards Sam.

"Ok, lets go..."


	14. Unexpected Kisses

_Hey there, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic :D_

_It's been almost a month since the last chapter I think – I know, I'm such a terrible author! That's way too long!_

_So, everything kind of starts falling apart in this chapter. Here comes all the lying and cheating – but I'll let you read it to find out what happens ;)_

_Sorry it's so short, I didn't really have any more to write for this chapter though... and it's only short compared to the long chapters I've been writing recently. This is about the same length as earlier chapters. Also, I have mocks, exams and a lot of stress at the moment. Which is why I wanted to get this chapter up so that deserting you for the next couple of weeks doesn't seem as bad._

_Please review and tell me your opinions. Honestly, whenever I see that someone has reviewed my heart skips a beat, I get so excited! And you all want to see me happy right? :D_

_Hopefully you enjoy this and don't hate me for the length or anything else,_

_C.R. Richardson xx_

_(**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter, I'm not JK Rowling unfortunately.)_

* * *

><p>"So..." Lily followed Sam into the empty classroom.<p>

He pulled out an empty goblet and set it on the table. It was bronze with intricate metal work spiraling up the stem. Using his wand, Sam muttered a spell that the two of them had been working on for the past couple of weeks.

Immediately after the last whisper of the spell left Sam's lips, the goblet started to morph. Two wings spread out on either side of it, and chocolate brown feathers were spreading over forming wings. Then a head unroled itself from the chest, two wide eyes stared bewildered at the students.

Lily errupted in applause. She had been patiently waiting for him to complete the spell for weeks now. She had watched him practise countless times, but never quite get, and now he had mastered it.

At the sudden noise the owl flew to the roof of the classroom, trying to escape. Lily couldn't wipe the grin off her face. "You did it!" She looked up at the perfectly formed owl.

Sam chuckled at Lily's excitement. "I had a good teacher." He said, catching her eye.

She blushed and looked away from Sam. "No, I'm sure this one is all you." She had almost forgotten the real reason why she had come – to find out what was really going on.

"Sam – I really need to talk to you." The Gryfindor student let the words tumble out of her mouth before she could regret saying them.

"Shoot." His attention was still focused on the bird, probably trying to figure out how to get it down and return it to goblet form.

"Sev said that it was your idea." Lily said quietly, studying his face as she spoke.

Eyes still trained on the owl, Sam thought through what she said. There was no denying that it was about the other night, that much was obvious. He slowly bought his face down to meet Lily's, making sure that he didn't give away any of the emotions he was actually feeling.

"What was my idea?" A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he feigned ignorance.

Lily was starting to doubt Snape, her ex-best friend. "The other night... you know..." She swallowed. "When they..." Just hinting at what had happened was hard enough without filling out all the details.

"I know," he saved her from having to go into depth, "what you're talking about."

"Well? Was it your idea?" Lily was positioned a few steps away from him, keeping a safe distance. She was close to the door and looked like she was ready to run at any moment. There was fear in her eyes and a slight shake in her voice.

"Was what my idea?"

"Everything!"

"You're going to have to be more specific then that." Sam said with a smile. The owl sat on the big wooden rafters in the ceiling, a mere spectator, forgotten about by both students.

"Sev said you thought it would be fun to hurt me?" She spoke with pain and disbelief in her voice.

"I never said that!" He defended himself. "Why would I ever try and hurt you Lily? I really like you." Once the words were out he couldn't take them back. They hung in the air like a looming storm cloud. He knew that his problems were only just beginning with a confession like that.

Lily cleared her throat, buying time before she had to speak. "What?" She coughed out.

"Look, that really doesn't matter. I can't believe you would trust Severus over me."

"Well I have known him longer than I've known you." She thought that part was obvious. Although she hadn't personally told Sam her story, she was confident that he knew it already.

"I would never hurt you, Lily." He said quietly, looking directly into Lily's eyes, trying to show his sincerity.

"Ok," she nodded hesitantly, trying her hardest to believe him. She had never wanted it to have been Sam who implimented the whole thing. She had never wanted it to be Severus either, though. In fact, she had been quiet happy when she was blissfully unaware and didn't have to figure out this whole _who-dunnit_. Now, more than anything, she just wanted the nightmare to be over.

* * *

><p>They heard voices coming from the corridor, and Lily realised that she was meant to be watching the Gryffindors play against the Ravenclaw team. James had asked specifically for her to be there and although she would never have missed the match anyway, she still promised to go.<p>

Leaving the classroom, Sam and Lily made their way to the corridor. The noise was growing closer, it sounded like a chant that the students had made up but Lily couldn't make out the words yet. It was faintly coming closer towards them.

Lily looked down the corridor and listened to the noise; if she was correct, it sounded like students shouting "Gryffindor!" over and over interrupted by random bursts of undistinguishable yelling. A wall of students turned the corner and were now facing possibly the only two people who hadn't showen up to the game. Lily recognised almost all of them from her house, a couple were wearing yellow and black scarves identifying themselves as Hufflepuffs.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team were leading the pack, most likely back to their common room were a party was going to be inevitably held. Every single student was beaming and cheering, telling Lily that James and his team had in fact won the game. Lily's heart plunged as she realised that she had missed the game that she promised to be at.

Tami was standing near the front of the crowd that was now passing the two students. She noticed Lily standing off to the side not cheering. "There you are! Did you go to the game?"

"Um, no, don't tell James. How many points did we win by?" She thought that if she knew the right information, James would believe that she was there and just lost in the crowds.

"190 – 40," Tami grinned at the utter defeat by the Gryffindors. It had clearly been a short game, only a few points scored before the snitch had been caught. "What were you doing?" That was when the blonde haired Gryffindor caught sight of the only Slytherin in this corridor. She sent a look to Lily showing that she definitely did not approve.

Lily sighed. "We were practising Transfiguration."

Her eyebrows raised. "So you had to miss James' game?"

"I thought I would be there in time for the end." Lily tried to defend herself.

"Whatever. I'm going to the party, are you coming?"

"Maybe later. Do you know where James is?" She asked.

When Tami shrugged Lily told her that instead of going to the party she was going to look for James. Her friend bought up the valid point that if James was going to be anywhere it would probably be at the party, but Lily was hesitant to go with her because she was sure that if James was at the party he would have been leading the way with his team.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked, still standing behind her, when Tami had joined the crowd.

She had completely forgotten about him. "Oh, I'm going to look for James. I'll see you later, Sam. Good job on the spell by the way!" She called out as she walked swiftly down the corridor, hoping that serious damage control wasn't needed.

* * *

><p>Lily stood in the middle of an empty field. Everybody had left; the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs to party, the Ravenclaws and Slytherins to wallow in self-pity. She felt so isolated being there. The only other times she had been there was during a game with hundreds of students cheering loudly.<p>

Only she wasn't alone. James was sitting in the stands, he hadn't noticed Lily yet, just like she hadn't noticed him. He was staring at the sky. His team had won, he should be overjoyed but he wasn't. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that was pulling his mood down. He couldn't place what it was, just that there was something amiss.

Lily spotted him from her position on the field and waved but because he wasn't looking he didn't see her. She began her journey off the field and into the stands.

"Congratulations," she whispered in his ear. So focused on his own thoughts, James hadn't even heard her coming up behind him and so was shocked by her sudden apperance.

He turned around in his seat to face Lily and giving her a small kiss on her lips. "Thanks," he said, and shuffled to the side, gesturing for her to take the seat next to him.

"Where were you?"

She tried not to let the guilt show on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Instead of watching me play."

He seemed so calm about it, which was something Lily wasn't expecting. "I was here watching you!" She lied through her teeth, trying for a nonchalant approach.

James let out a small chuckle. "You're a terrible liar, you know that right?"

Lily smiled and laughed along with him, she had been told that once or twice. Most of the time she didn't even bother to try and be a good liar. Why should she need to lie? The truth is always better. "I know," she sighed.

"So, where were you?" He re-iterated his question.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. James may be fine about her not showing up to his game, but how would he feel if he knew what she was actually doing. "Sorry, I just got caught up with... work."

He knew she was lying. How could he not, she was so terrible at it like he just said. But he pretended like he thought that was like the truth. Pretended that she actually did have work to do because if she was lying about something than it must be pretty important. "Work...?" He muttered quietly under his breath. Sighing he decided that he should probably get to the party that would be raging in the common room. "Come on."

He stood up and offered Lily his hand, pulling them both out of the stands and along the path that would lead them back to the castle.

* * *

><p>While Lily was off with James, Sam had gone back to the Slytherin common room nothing had gone as he had planned. Snape had decided to confess everything to Lily and Sam was pissed off. Lily now thought that everything was in some way his fault and he wasn't sure if he had managed to convince her into thinking otherwise.<p>

"Sam!" The twins shouted cheerily as he entered the dorm he shared with them.

He was not in the mood their chipperness like he often humoured them by putting up with it. He sent them a withering glare.

"Sammy, what's wrong?" Lee pouted as he came over to the new arrival.

"Nothing." He spoke through his teeth. "Where's Snape?" He spat out.

Casey answered. "He's out."

"Can we help you?" Finished Lee.

"Yes, you can tell me where he is." Once Sam had found out from the twins exactly where Snape was he left the room promptly.

He strode down corridor after corridor making his way to the library, where the Prisa twins had last seen Snape. As he went up multiple staircases he imagined Lily partying in the Gryffindor common room with James. It made him so angry, wishing that it was himself she was dancing with not the ignorant Gryffindor Chaser.

As Sam rounded the corner he found himself facing Snape. He was completely opposite to the scrawny boy in front of him. Sam's skin was more tan compared to Snape's deathly pale complexion, he was taller by a good couple of inches and better built.

"Snape! What'd you do?" He snarled at the frightened looking Slytherin.

"What are you talking about?" Asked the bewildered boy.

Sam glanced around the corridor, wishing he didn't have to have this conversation in the middle of an open space but knowing that he couldn't have bottled his anger up until getting to a private room. "Lily knew _everything_ and I had to_ lie_ to keep her from loosing her trust in me." He explained.

"Well maybe she shouldn't trust you." Snape said, trying to move around Sam who just stepped to the side and got in his way again.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" He was shocked at Snape taking a stand against him.

The twins were hiding around the corner listening in on the two Slytherin students conversation. They weren't really sure what was going on, but their nosey nature meant that they didn't care and continued listening. They turned to each other wide-eyed when Snape made the crack that Lily shouldn't trust Snape, but that only made them more interested.

"You know what it means. Just stay away from her." Snape turned on his heel and walked swiftly away. Confrontation wasn't his strong point and so turning his back on Sam went against his natural instinct but he did it anyway, eager to be out of there.

* * *

><p>Charms class was as boring as ever the next Monday and the students were getting restless like usual. And, like usual Mr. Dowe seemed to take no notice and continued with his lesson. He had been explaining a multiplying charm to the kids. It wasn't difficult to learn but could hurt the subject if not used correctly.<p>

The Prisa twins had tuned out the droning voice as soon as the class had started. There were already two of them, why did there need to be more?

"Once performed, the 'clone' will be able to move like normal but not think for themselves. This means that they will be like an empty box..." Mr. Dowe's monotonus voice filled the classroom.

Lee had a quill in his right hand and was tracing odd swirls on a piece of spare parchment. They were supposed to be taking notes on the lecture that they were being given, but no one was. Casey was holding the quill in his left hand, drawing on the same piece of parchment adding to the doodles by his twin. Neither shared a word nor a look, they knew each other so well that they could guess where their hands were going next.

"Right!" Mr. Dowes brought all the students attention back to himself. "You have your beetles in front of you, you know the spell – go for it!"

The parchment was forgotten about, they picked up their wands and pointed.

A chorus of "maxima multio" could be heard leaving all the students lips. Simultaneously the small black beetles doubled and then doubled again. In no time there were hundreds of beetles running around every students desk.

The twins grinned at each other when they saw the effects of the spell first hand. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lee asked, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"I certainly hope I am." Casey answered, an idea beginning to form in both of their minds.

They both stood up from their seats in the back of the room. Pointing their wands directly at their doppelganger's chest, they looked each other in the eye and spoke the words in unison "maxima multio".

Suddenly the room was filled with ten identical boys. All of them were brown haired with pale skin, mischevious grins and Slytherin robes. The class couldn't help but noticed the influx in students. A lot of them laughed at the sight, a few sighed at their usual antics and the teacher ran across the room positively steaming.

"Change yourselves back, right now." Mr. Dowe insisted. But it was in vain. A bell rang signalling the end of the lesson and with that the twins were gone. The other eight clones, having the same ambitions as their creators followed suit and left Mr. Dowes staring slack-jawed after them. The other students, eager to leave the class, were close behind.

* * *

><p>James was sat at a small table in the library by himself. He was just as stunned as the other students there. Although studying in the library was not a completely foreign concept to him it was one that didn't often come about.<p>

None of his friends had study at the same time, but that didn't bother him. Sometimes he enjoyed being alone and able to think through everything happening in his life.

"Hey, sorry to hear about you and Lily." Lee and Casey had come up in front of James and were currently occupying the two seats opposite him.

He shot them a confused glance. "What are you talking about?"

"You guys aren't together anymore..." Yesterday, when Sam had made his way back to the dorm after confronting Snape the twins had sat him down and got him to confess to some of what was happening. From what he said they had assumed that since Lily was willing to spend time with Sam at the risk of missing James' Quidditch game that the two Gryffindors were on shakey ground.

"Yes we are."

"But she was with Sam–"

"–instead of watching your game?" They glanced at each other, wondering how they had gotten their information wrong. Of course no one had specifically said that they were broken up, but from what Sam had said it had sounded that way.

"She was with Sam?" James tried to sound nonchalant but on the inside he was fuming. If this was true then, Lily had lied to him about it. He thought he had made it very clear, right from the beginning, that he didn't like or trust Sam.

They realised they had probably said too much. "We have to go–"

"Work to do, pranks to plan." They stood up from the table with a wave to James and exited the library leaving the Gryffindor student to think through all they had told him.

* * *

><p>Lily and Sam had an unscheduled Transfiguration practise that afternoon. After Sam had shown Lily that he was improving she was excited and had called for this impromptu lesson. They had been practising a new spell for the duration of an hour and Lily was a little disheartened because he hadn't picked it up immediately.<p>

"That's ok, try again!" She encouraged when the spell went wrong yet again.

He sighed, "Lily, I hope Snape didn't scare you off earlier. You do know you can trust me, right?" Sam approached the subject cautiously.

She was surprised by the change of subject and to be honest she hadn't even thought about it since the weekend when they last had this conversation. "Yeah, I know." She smiled, believing what she said. "Maybe we should stop for now. You've already done such a good job!"

"If you're sure?" He wanted to agree with her, he just wasn't in the right head space to be trying to complete this difficult spells.

"Yeah, we'll work on it next lesson." She stood up from the table and made her way to the door with Sam in pursuit.

She stopped at the doorway and turned to face Sam, he had moved closer to her very quickly, without her noticing. Before she could stop him, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close.

Lily wasn't pulling away which, to Sam, was always good. He deepened the kiss.

After the intial surprise she realised what was happening and knew it had to stop. Shock was the only reason it had gotten this far. She bought her arms up between them, hands balled into fists, and pushed him away using her forearms. Her hand raised to her lips, as if she could rub away the kiss and pretend it never happened.

Instead of saying anything, Lily made her escape. She rushed out of the door and down the corridor, not looking back to see if Sam was following her, just running back to her dorm.

The camera that was in the Lee's hand fell down by his side. The twins had witnessed everything from their hiding spot and now had photographic evidence.


End file.
